Double Life
by Apex Soldier
Summary: There were 2 18 year olds. Both had a secret habit. Both had a double life. What would happen if both double lives crossed each other. Major pairing: NaruxHina. Minor: SasuxSaku, NejixTen. Story better than summary, promise. Rated T, just to be safe...
1. Explainations, Thoughts, Action!

**Hey, I'm here to tell you that this is my first fanfic. I know I said that I wouldn't write long stories, but I couldn't help it. It was originally a one-shot, but it turned to a full-blown story. For future reference, no flames. Thanks. In this fanfic, Hinata is a bit OC _(i'm guessing the means, out of character, not sure but she is a bit out of character in here.) _in this story. Still shy but doesn't stutter as much and is a little more confident. Just to let you know. **

**This chapter just introduces each main character, well most of them, and tells you majority of everything that's happened in there lives until this point in time. A prologue if you will. This chapter also doesn't completely explain why I chose the title Double Life or who has the double life. If you figure it out, good for you, but don't leave it on a review, PM me. Besides, there's still a surprise up my sleeve so you won't exactly know everything. Well, if you have anything to say to me, again, review or PM me. Enjoy the story!**

**_P.S- Any author who reads this, can you help me out a bit with the whole publishing things, like how to change fonts, etc... etc... that'd be cool._  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has to do with Naruto. It belongs to that Kishimoto or however you spell it.**

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It started like any other day. The sun rose over the horizon at 5:50 in the morning, birds were heard chirping and… "Ahh!!!" …The usual morning yell made by the usual loud-mouth, knuckle headed blond eighteen year old.

"Come on, man! Keep your damn dog on a leash, or at least away from me!" Yelled Naruto.

"Maybe if you remember to close your door at night we wouldn't have this problem eh baka?" Kiba yelled back.

"Eh? Man, whatever. Just shut up and walk your mutt." Retorted Naruto.

"Hn." Was all Kiba said. Naruto was getting tired being woken up by Kiba's dog. Kiba was a month younger then Naruto. They both went to Konoha High. Kiba was at least 6 foot tall. Had brown hair with a red triangle tattoo, which had a head of a fox with nine flaming tails surrounding the head inside the red triangle, on the side of his left arm. Though you wouldn't see it because he usually wore sleeves long enough to cover it. He currently had a sleeveless grey shirt with black shorts. People who got to see the tattoo would wonder why he had that. Naruto would only laugh. _'If only they knew'_ he thought. He and Naruto both lived in a run-down two story apartment. Kiba lived in the second floor, and Naruto was two doors down from Kiba's. They both lived alone. Kiba moved out of his parent's house when he was 16 because he got in a fight with his mom about his dog, Akamaru. So he moved in the same building Naruto lived in after Naruto told him about the empty room in his building.

Naruto was alone all his life. He was abandoned when he was only 2. It's been said they his parents left to The States. The reason he was left behind, no one knows. He had blonde hair and was picked on a lot because of it. He was also picked on because he was an orphan. The other kids would always say 'orphan' or tell him how unwanted or useless he was. He's lived in the orphanage since he was 13. That was when the Council of Konoha decided he was old enough to live by himself. Though he would never admit it, he's gotten used to getting woken up by Akamaru, especially not to Kiba. _'Like I'd let dog breath know that.'_

Naruto sighed. "As long as I'm up, might as well make myself breakfast." Naruto said as he headed to his kitchen. Saying that his kitchen was a mess was an understatement. 'Damn' he thought. It was a horrible sight. Dishes were all over the sink, two piles of instant ramen that almost reached the ceiling in the corner, food left out to mold, and had a horrible smell.

"Uhm… maybe I'll eat at school. Uh yeah, that's a good idea." He ran into his room, got his clothes together and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

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"Ahh!!!"

That was all that was need to get Hinata up. Hinata was a very beautiful young lady, though she didn't think so. She thought she was an average girl, no special talent. The only thing the she thought was out of the ordinary about her was her white eyes. She wasn't blind but she had white eyes that had a tint of lavender. When she heard someone yell, she immediately woke up and sat up. However, she sat up too fast and fell off her bed.

_'Ouch.'_ She thought.

"Ow… hmm, what time is it?" she thought out loud she said after realizing what happened.  
She looked across the room to her digital clock, it was almost six. She was thinking about going back to sleep, but decided against it and went to take a bath. Before she could get up, her younger sister came into her room.

"Yo, onee-chan I… uhm, why you on the floor?" asked her sister.

"I just fell, don't ask…" replied Hinata.

"You heard him, too?" she asked.

"I wouldn't doubt that it was him." Said Hinata.

"Well, I came to ask if you wanted breakfast." Said Hinata's sister.

"Hmm… sure. Be down in 15 minutes." Hinata said as she got up and headed into her bathroom.

She entered her bath, the warm water made Hinata relax as she got in. Hinata thought about everything that has happened in her life so far. She remembered her uncle that died by taking a bullet meant for her father. Her cousin, Neji, was devastated when he heard the news. Hinata's father made Neji move in with them, Neji refused at first. Neji didn't like Hinata's father. Neji thought Hinata's father used his father to shield him from the bullet. But her first real friend helped them through it, he even convince Neji that her father wasn't all bad. Then about a month later, her parents died in a car crash. Everyone was grieving when they heard, Hinata, her younger sister Hanabi, and even Neji. Soon, even Neji befriend her friend. She had tears in her eyes when she thought of her dead parents, but she fought them back. What's worse was all this happened before she was twelve.  
A smile appeared on her face when she thought of another memory. The memory of her first friend.

**_[Flash back]_**

_A five year old Hinata was sitting on the swing in the park. She saw her mom playing with one year old Hanabi. Then her mom came up to her._

_"Hina-chan, I'm going to go change your baby sister, do you think you'll be fine until I come back?" her mom asked. Hinata looked up at her mom._

_Hinata replied with a smile. "Yes mommy."_

_Her mom smiled back. "Ok, be careful please. And if you need anything, the car is right over there." She pointed in the direction of the blue van._

_"Ok mommy." Her mom smiled at her and then left. Hinata faced forward and kept swinging._

_"Hey, get out of that swing, that's my swing." She looked up to see where the voice came from. Two seven year olds stood in front of her, both looked pretty mad. She grew afraid and started stuttering._

_"Uhm… b-b-but there are t-two more swings d-down there. Can you please use those?" She asked, afraid of what they would do or say._

_"No, I said that that one's mine. Now get off!" The first boy said angrily. The other boy picked up Hinata by the collar of her shirt and was about to push her, but a voice caught their attention._

_"Oí! Leave that girl alone!"_

_Everyone looked up to see a six year old boy with blond hair, three whisker marks on his face and an angry expression spread on his face just two feet away from the two boys and the terrified Hinata. Both boys didn't seem scared._

_"And if we don't?" the first boy sneered._

_The blond kid only smirked. He ran at the other boys with amazing speed, smashed his fist into the face of the first boy and then drove his other fist to the gut of the second boy. Both boys fell, hard._

_"I'm gonna tell!" one boy said as both boys fled crying._

_The blond kid sighed. He then turned to a still awe-struck Hinata._

_"You ok?" he asked. She was speechless, so she only nodded._

_"Good." She looked at him with a confused look on her face, all the while aloof. He saw her looking at him. He tilted his head, raised an eyebrow and said something she didn't hear._

_"Oh, I'm s-sorry, I-I didn't hear you. What did you say?" she asked._

_"I said why are you starring at me?" He repeated with a smile. She blushed; she didn't know she was starring._

_"O-oh, I didn't mean to stare, sorry. I was just wondering why you would help me… N-Not that I'm not glad you saved me b-but I-I-I… Uhm, I-I mean…" She stopped. She didn't want to seem strange to the boy that just saved her._

_He laughed and rubbed the back of his head with his hand. "Ha-ha-ha, it's ok. Well, I was just walking home from Ichiraku's. On my way, I saw two boys crowd over you. I thought you could use the help. And besides," He lowered his head so his mouth was close to her ear. Her blush deepened when he whispered._

_"Between you and me, I don't like those guys. They're jerks and I always wanted to do that." He said with his fox-like grin and she giggled._

_"So Hina-chan, who's your friend?"_

_Both kids looked up to see a woman with a sincere smile holding a baby. Hinata ran up to the woman and gave her a hug._

_"Mommy!" Hinata said with a huge smile._

_"Hello Hina-chan. So are you going to introduce me to your friend here?" Her mom asked again._

_"Oh, yeah. Mommy, this is… uh…" She didn't even know the name of her savior. She never asked this boy what his name was. She blushed both because she was embarrassed and because the blond kid was starring at her and had a blush, too._

_"Uhm… my name's Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto said, his blush now gone._

_"Naruto, eh?" Her mom said. "Well, it's nice to meet you Naruto." She had a smile the made the boy visibly relax. They shook hands._

_"It's nice to meet you, too." Naruto said with his ear-to-ear smile._

_"And it seems you've already met my oldest daughter Hinata-chan." Hinata's mom said while softly pushing Hinata closer to Naruto. Hinata blushed at the sudden closeness._

_"H-Hi" she said with a stutter._

_"Hey there Hinata-chan!" he replied with a bigger smile, if possible. Then he remembered something he once saw on TV. He lifted up Hinata's hand with his hand and gently kissed it. Hinata's mom started laughing, Hinata's blush darkened, and Naruto was still smiling. In the distance, you could hear a little boy crying to his father._

_"That's him father."_

_Naruto panicked. He looked back and cringed when he saw the two boys he punched talking to their dad, both pointing at him. Their dad was fuming._

_'Crap! Their dad is HUGE!' Thought Naruto.  
_

_"Heh-heh, uhm… Not to be rude, but I need to go home before dark. Please excuse me." And then he broke into a run. A minute later, the two boys and their dad were going in the direction Naruto was heading. Silence followed them._

_Hinata was the first to break the silence. "But mommy, the sun is still in the middle of the sky." She asked._

_Her mom had a concerned look. "Yes, I know dear, but I think he'll be busy until then. Oh, I hope he'll be ok. Come on Hina-chan, let's go home. You know how daddy gets when we keep him waiting."_

_Hinata nodded as a response. Before she left, she faced the direction Naruto took. 'Naruto-kun…'_

**_[End of Flash Back]_**

She still had that smile on her face. She always had a smile on her face when she thought about Naruto. Before more memories appeared in Hinata's head, she heard some one knocking on the bathroom door.

Knock

Knock

Knock

"Onee-chan, breakfast is almost done, come out already." Screamed Hanabi.

"Ok, I'm coming." Hinata yelled. _'I wonder what Naruto-kun's up to.'_ She got of the tub, dried off, got dressed and went downstairs to eat breakfast. She lived in a nice house. Not all fancy but not run-down. Hinata, Hanabi and Neji decided to move out of her old house and move just a block away from Naruto's house. They decided to move close to someone they trusted just in case something happened. With the money and stuff the received from their parents will, they had enough to buy the house and pay people to move the heavy things to their new home.

When she reached the dining room, she saw Neji eating toast with jam. Hanabi was in the kitchen making breakfast.

"Ohayo, Neji." Hinata sat down across from Neji.

"Ohayo, Hinata. How are you this morning?" said Neji as calmly as ever.

"My heads hurts a bit. I fell off because I heard a noise. Honestly though, I'm perfectly fine."

"So you heard him scream, too?" asked Neji. Hinata suddenly was got red in her face.

"Y-Yeah. It was kinda hard not to hear him." Neji only smirked when he heard her stutter. He knew she only stuttered when she was nervous or when she around Naruto. Sometimes, Naruto's the reason she gets nervous. He knew of the crush she had on the blonde, knuckle-headed dobe. As much as a friend Naruto is, Neji was always over-protective of his cousin. Naruto was no exception.

"Hinata…" Hinata looked up at the him after Hanabi served her breakfast.

"Yes, Neji?"

"I'm leaving in a little bit. I have to leave earlier than usual." Neji explained. He saw Hinata smirk and raised an eyebrow.

"TenTen?" she teased. Neji's blush was barely noticeable, but Hinata saw it.

"That's not the point. Do you want me to drop you off or are you going to walk to school?" he asked.

Hinata went into a thinking pose. "Hmm.. no thanks, I'll walk."

Now it was Neji's turn to smirk. "Naruto?" He teased.

And Hinata's turn to blush. "N-No. T-That's not w-why I'm w-walking." She explained. "I-It's just t-too early a-and besides, I-I wouldn't have anything to d-do when I-I got t-there." She said, but she knew Neji wouldn't believe her. But he let it go. He enjoys teasing Hinata about Naruto, just like she likes to tease him about TenTen. However, he knew when her stuttering gets this bad, he had to stop.

"Ok. Just be careful. And make sure Hanabi gets to school safely." He said before he left.

Ten minutes later, both girls left their homes. Hinata was about to walk Hanabi to her school but she spoke up.

"You don't have to walk me to school, onee-chan, I know the way." Hanabi said.

"No, Hanabi. You heard Neji, I have to make sure you get there safely." Hinata replied.

"Please, I want to walk to school by myself. Please, I have my phone and if anything bad happens, I know who to call." Pleaded Hanabi. "Anyways, the school is just five blocks away."

"Hanabi, I'd let you, but then what would I tell Neji?"

"just tell him you I got there in one piece and I'll back you up."

Hinata hesitated. "Fine, but only for today. Tomorrow, Neji will drive us to school, got it?"

"Thank you onee-chan, thank you." Hanabi hugged her big sister and was off. She ran in one direction, whilst Hinata headed in the other.

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*sniff-sniff* "Ahh, fresh." Naruto said as came out of the shower. Soon after he said that, he sneezed._** (A/N: Just to let you know, this is at the same time when Hinata had that thought about him. Just making things clear. Enjoy the rest of the story)**_ He heard his door open and then someone say.

"Yo, Naruto hurry up or we'll miss… school…" the voice stopped.

"Damn it Sasuke, how many times I gotta tell you to knock first!" asked Naruto in his towel. The guy in front of him was his best friend since the seventh grade. He stood 5'11" tall. He was tan and had spiky, dark raven hair. He had the usual face that said 'I just don't give a damn'. He was wearing a long white-T shirt with blue shorts and white and blue Jordans.

"Uhm… why are you only wearing a towel?" Sasuke questioned.

"Why don't you knock before coming in?" asked an angry Naruto.

"Answer me first." He said calmly.

Naruto groaned. "Shut up, I just came out of the shower. Just give me a sec, I gotta get ready." Naruto then slammed his bedroom door shut.

"Hn, fine, but if you don't hurry up we might not catch up with Hinata." Sasuke knew Naruto liked her, so every morning he would use her as an excuse to make him hurry up. Soon he heard Naruto say…

"What!?" and then…

BUMP

"Damn it that hurt…" It got a little bit quiet after that, the only thing heard was mumbling.

_'The dobe is probably swearing under his breath.'_ Minutes pasted and Sasuke was getting impatient. Then he heard another…

BUMP and then something that sounded like something was rolling on the floor.

_'What the hell is he doing in there?'_ Sasuke just sighed. "Dobe."

Inside his room, Naruto yelled. "I HEARD THAT, TEME!"

This got Sasuke angry, so he said it again, but louder. "DOBE". He heard some rustling in side Naruto's room. Then his door opened fast, so fast that it almost fell of its hinges. Naruto came out annoyed, he was wearing an orange sweater with black and white stripes at the side, inside he wore a white shirt. His hair was damp so it was down instead of the normal spike-ish, messy style. He also put on white shorts that reached below his knees and had orange, white and black Jordans.

"TEME!"

"DOBE!"

"TEME!"

"DOBE!"

"TEME!"

"DOBE!"

"TEME…"

"Uhm…" Both boys turned to the front door to see a pink haired girl. She was at least 5'4", had jade colored eyes, wearing a pink shirt, black sweater, tight blue jeans and black and pink converse. She was tired; you could see it in her face.

"Not that I care that you're both fighting, again, but school starts in 25 minutes." Said the girl. She went up to Sasuke and gave him a kiss in the cheek.

"Sakura, wait outside. We'll be with you in a sec." Sasuke said.

"Ok, but don't keep me waiting." She winked at him, smiled and left.

"Come on Naruto, you heard her, time to head out." Sasuke said, the calmness returning to his voice.

"Yeah, yeah I heard. Damn teme, she got you whipped." Naruto said with his usual smile. Sasuke looked like he was about to say something but Naruto cut him off.

"Hold that thought Sasuke, let me get my bag." Naruto turned back and went in his room. Sasuke head for the door.

BANG! Sasuke faced Naruto's room and smirked. "You ok there dobe?" he asked.

THUMP! "GAH!"

SPLASH! "WHAT THE HELL!? When did I bring that in here? Ahh!" A second later, Naruto came out of his room, holding a wet book bag.

"Uh…"

"Don't ask… Let's just go." Sasuke was the first to leave the room. Naruto left his house, turned around, locked his door and started walking to school with Sasuke and Sakura. He doesn't even know why he bothers locking. Having no parents, he naturally had no valuable things, nothing good enough to be stolen. Nothing but his small TV, a cell phone and a watch, but he was already wearing the watch, had his cell phone in his pocket and the TV was almost broken. So no problem. And a door? He didn't need it since no one knocks, EVER! They just barge in, like they own the place. Except Hinata. _'Hinata-chan'_ Naruto thought. _'I remember that day at the swings. Even then she looked cute. Well, I mean, for a little kid. But now she's… pretty? No, not pretty… beautiful? YEAH! Beautiful.'_ Naruto now had a smile plastered on his face.

"What do you think he's smiling about?" Sasuke asked Sakura.

Sakura smiled. "Isn't it obvious? He's thinking about…"

"Hinata…" Naruto said quietly, thinking they didn't hear him. Unfortunately for him, they did. Sakura and Sasuke smiled.

"Ya know Naruto," She started. Getting Naruto's attention. "If you like Hinata that much, why don't you ask her on a date?" As soon as she said that, he froze.

He started sttutering. "A d-d-date?" Sasuke smirked and decided to play along.

"Yeah, you talk about her all the time, I even saw you write both your names together."

"Hn, so? That doesn't mean anything." Said Naruto defensively.

"In a heart?" He smirked again when he saw Naruto flinch at his response. Naruto looked up at the sky. _'You have the power to stop this.'_

"Thinking about Hinata again?" asked Sakura.

"No, not this time…" yelled Naruto, but as soon as he said that, he knew what his mistake was. _'Damn, stupid brain. Not fast enough to keep up with my mouth.'_

"AH HA, I KNEW IT!" yelled Sakura.

"Shut up," Naruto started running. "Catch ya both at school!" yelled Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura just watched him leave, both smiling.

"Come on Sakura, we don't want to be late." Said Sasuke. Sakura looked up at her boyfriend.

"But he's going the wrong way… Shouldn't we tell him?" inquired Sakura. Sasuke just laughed.

"I'm sure he'll figure it out. Now come on, we don't want late." And they kept walking in the other direction while Naruto ran in the other.

Naruto kept running. _'Ha, dodged a bullet there!'_ Then he looked at his watch._ 'Crap! I'm gonna be late… and where am I going?'_ He thought. He didn't see the person in front of him and bumped into them. Before he hit the ground, he thought he smelled the scent of lavender.

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_'I hope Hanabi got to school ok. I mean, I know she can be a pain sometimes, but she's still my little sister. Hn, what I'm I worried about, I'm sure she's al…'_ She was cut off from her thoughts when she collided with someone.

_'Ouch.' _They both thought at the same time.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" exclaimed Naruto.

"I-I-I'm sorry." Hinata said while picking up her books. "I w-wasn't watching where…" she started but was Naruto cut her off.

"Oh, Ohayo Hinata-chan! Ha-ha, sorry… Didn't see you there." He told her, wearing the same ear-to-ear smile he always wore when he saw her. He got up and held out a hand to help her up. His rough, large hand reached out for her soft, petite hands. She grabbed it and blushed when she realized their hands were touching.

"Ne, Hinata-chan. You alright? You're starting to turn red." He said. Hinata's blushed deepened. He knew she was blushing, he wasn't that stupid. He actually thought it was cute. He just didn't know why she blushed whenever he was around her.

"Ohayo Naruto-kun." She replied and then shook her head. "And, no, I'm fine Naruto-kun, thanks for asking."

He smiled. "Come on Hinata-chan, I thought I told you not to be so formal. Just Naruto, ok?"

She smiled back. "Ok, Naruto."

"So, how was your morning Hinata-chan?" Inquired Naruto.

"Great. Aside from the fact that I heard someone yell in the morning, making me fall off my bed. Other than that, great." She ended with a smile.

Naruto looked at her sheepishly. "Really, hmm… wonder who that was?" _'Damn it, she heard me?'_

"Yeah, me too. I think it was a girl. I mean, it was a girly shriek." Hinata teased.

"Hey, I don't scream like a girl, I was just caught off guard, is all." He explained.

'Busted' Hinata thought. "I knew it."

Naruto just laughed embarrassingly. "Ha-ha, looks I fell for it. Uhm, I can explain…"

"No need, I think I already know what happened." Hinata affirmed. He tilted his head and smirked.

"Oh yeah? So what took place at the moment in question?" Naruto said trying to sound smart. She grinned.

"Well, I suspect that you were slumbering, and without prior notice, Akamaru assaulted you with his salivate until you awoke up from your slumber." She explained, trying to use complicated words.

"Ehh?" was Naruto's response to Hinata. Hinata giggled at his puzzled look. So she decided to make it easier for him.

"You were asleep, Akamaru came in your house and licked your face until woke you up." She explained. His smile returned and he rubbed the back of his head with his hand. _'She's really smart. No wonder I couldn't understand her the first time. Plus, she looks great.'_ She had a blue tank top on that hugged her body perfectly, showing off her flawless figure. Although, being the nice and modest person she was, she hid it behind a large black sweater. Except it was open, so you could still see some of it. She wore a tight, black jeans and all black converse. Her hair, which was long and dark indigo that gleamed from the morning sun's light, was down, letting it brush lightly on her pale, silky-soft skin. She wore no make-up. _'Not that she needs it'_ Naruto reflected. Her natural beauty was too much of a pleasant sight to hide behind make-up. The thing that about her that he absolutely could never forget is her eyes. Silver yet lavender eyes that glistened like the moon at night, mesmerizing eyes that lured his eyes. She was the nicest, modest, most beautiful girl he's ever met. Simply put… _'Amazing…'_

"Man Hinata-chan, you're way too smart for me. I don't think I'd ever be able to say things like that. Dattebayo!" His smile widened. She giggled again. _'That smile is so cute.'_ She thought. It was in that moment that she noticed the bags under his cerulean eyes. 'Probably stayed up last night trying to finish his homework'. Hinata knew he wasn't the smartest guy in school, probably somewhere near the bottom maybe. She would sometimes stay over-night at his house to help him. Not that she would ever mind. If anything, she used it as an excuse to spend more time with him. Though sometimes, he would tell her he was busy that night. She was suspicious at first, yet she would shrug it off, his business was his business. Not like she could talk, she was out half the nights, too. _'That reminds me…'_

"Naruto, did you find that sweater I left at your house two nights ago?"

"Huh? Sweater? Oh… ha-ha…" He laughed sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

Hinata sighed. "What happened?"

"Funny story…"

"Again, What happened?"

Naruto laughed louder. "Akamaru." She groaned while he continued. "Yeah, it seems that he got in the other day and came back an hour later with a ripped up piece of it. Heh-heh, sorry." She groaned, closed her eyes and tilted her head down. When she opened her eyes, she noticed that his book bag was wet.

"Uhm, Naruto… What happened to your bag?" She asked.

"Uhm, ha-ha… you see, I was getting ready when…" he said, but was cut short by Hinata's shriek after she saw the time on his watch.

"What? What's wrong, Hinata-chan?"

"School starts in ten minutes and it's a fifteen minute walk from here." She paused. "I can't be late again, I can't afford another tardy. If I get one, then I'll get detention." She was on the verge of tears.

"Come on, Hinata-chan. Detentions aren't that bad, some are actually fun." Naruto spoke from experience. When she lifted her face, he saw that she was crying. _'Man, I hate seeing her cry.'_ He thought. Since he was raised without parents, Naruto didn't know what to do when a girl cries. So he just went with his instinct and pulled her into a hug. She was too upset to blush or tense up like she usually would whenever he touched her. Instead, she hugged him back.

"I-It's not that I'm a-afraid of getting detention, its just t-that Kurenai said…" She stopped, _'Naruto's not suppose to know about her.'_ Hinata thought.

"Wait a minute Hinata-chan, who's Kurenai?" Naruto asked as he pulled her back, enough so he could look at her. "And what did she say?"

She looked away and stayed quiet. She didn't want him to find out, not yet anyways. Naruto put his hand under her chin, and gently forced her face to look at him, but she her eyes still weren't looking at him.

With the most serious tone he could muster, he spoke again. "Hinata."

He caught her attention and her eyes looked at his. She knew he was serious. Naruto never calls her Hinata unless he was serious about something.

"Please Hinata, tell me."

Hinata sighed, she knew he wasn't going to let it go. Not without a fight. "S-She's… she's my coach." Naruto was now officially stumped.

"Coach? But I've never seen you play a sport. What does she coach you for?"

"She…" She let her tears fall. "Naruto please, I'll explain later, but right now I need to find a way to get to school before I'm late." Hinata tried to say it as calmly as she could, but couldn't handle it and let her head fall in his chest. Naruto could feel her tears moistening his shirt. _'I could always use IT, but she'll get suspicious. But if I don't use IT, we'll be late and she'll keep crying. Not to mention, she'll get in trouble with this "Kurenai" lady. Man, what…'_ He was brought out of his thoughts by Hinata's sobs and shaking shoulders. _'No doubt, I know what I gotta do…'_

"Hey, Hinata-chan…" He started, she looked up at him. Her sad look broke his heart. "Uhm… I think I know how we can get to school on time." He said, a bit hesitant. When she heard him say that, he could see hope appear in her eyes.

"You do?"

"Yeah, but I need you to promise me something." Naruto continued, nervously.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, anything."

Naruto sighed. "you gotta promise me… that whatever you see from now to when we reach school, you won't tell anyone anything."

She nodded. "Of course. I promise." Hinata then did something neither of them thought she would ever do. She leaned forward and kissed Naruto in the cheek. They both blushed. She giggled at his shocked expression. Hinata's giggle brought Naruto out of his astonishment.

"So, I guess we should go before we're late, ne Hinata-chan?" Naruto finally said. She beamed and nodded. He smiled his usual foxy smile.

"Know what Hinata-chan? You have a pretty smile." Hinata's blushed deepened at his comment, causing Naruto's smile to widen.

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"You sure about this Naruto? I mean I know you like her and all…"

"Shh…" Naruto whispered. "Not so loud, baka!"

"But is this a good idea?" asked Kiba. Naruto at first looked unsure, but after he looked back and saw Hinata, all doubt left his mind.

"Yeah, I'm sure. No doubt. Now, open the garage door." Kiba just shrugged and opened the garage. Hinata wasn't sure what Naruto was doing. Then she saw his car. 'That car. It can't be the same car, can it?'

"Ne, Hinata-chan. What are you waiting for?" Shouted Naruto.

"Oh, yeah." She went up to the black '67 Chevrolet Camaro RS SS. It had white and blue flames painted on each the side. On the hood of the car was a design similar to the one on Kiba's arm. The windows tinted dark blue. When she got in, Naruto told her something she didn't hear.

"What?"

He chuckled. "I said fasten up and hold on to something." Without warning, he slammed his foot on the petal and shot right off the garage, leaving smoke where his car once was. Kiba was coughing. 'Baka.' He thought.

"Uhm, Naruto…"

"Yeah, what's up Hinata-chan?" He asked still facing the road.

'Here we go.' She thought. "Where did you get this car from?"

"Well, I had to save up a lot money. All most my whole life. Anyways, I had to do a lot to raise up the money. Raking, washing, etc… etc… Things normal people don't like to do." Naruto answered with pride.

"Oh."

"Why do you ask?"

"B-Because… it's nice." She lied. Naruto could tell she was lying, but before he could say anything, he heard her say something.

"T-There's the school." He looked up and saw Konoha High. He stopped right across the street from it, parking behind a huge van. Hinata gave him a confused look. "Why'd you park over here? The parking lot can be used students." She asked.

"Well, I don't want anyone knowing that I have a car. At least for now. So I gotta park over here." He explained. She just nodded. "And remember, don't tell anyone about this." Hinata nodded, and then said.

"Thanks again Naruto." He replied with a smile.

They both got out and headed for their class. The rest of the day went on as it normally would. Naruto fell asleep soon after Asuma-sensei started reading Of mice and Men aloud, he got yelled at for sleeping, sent out of class and got detention. Hinata waited for him outside after school like she normally would, only this time, instead of readying herself for what she had planned later, she was thinking about Naruto's car. 'That car…'

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto shouted, she looked up and saw that he was running towards her. She smiled at him and waved. The trip home was pretty quiet. Naruto and Hinata were both thinking different things. Naruto was the first to break the silence.

"So Hinata-chan. Who's Kurenai?" He asked. She tensed up.

"N-No one special. She… she just helps me out w-with… my driving." She said. Naruto raised an eyebrow. 'Driving?' they both thought.

"Driving?" he asked, not believing it. She was starting to get nervous. Thinking on her feet, she kept of the façade.

"Y-Yeah. I-I still have some p-problems. Neji is t-too busy a-and I have to g-get b-better." She smiled nervously and getting red in the face. Naruto knew she wasn't blushing.

"Really?" He asked, hoping to get the truth from her. Her stuttering got worse.

"O-O-Of c-course, I-I wouldn't l-lie to y-you, N-Naruto." He was getting worried. 'It must be bad if her stuttering is getting this bad.'

"Ok Hinata-chan." It got quiet again. When they were a block away from her house, Naruto stopped. Hinata just stared at him, confused.

Naruto sighed. "Look Hinata-chan," He grabbed her hand and held it. She blushed. "I'm sorry if I made you a bit uncomfortable a while ago. I was just worried because you were freaking out about being late to school." She snapped out of her day dream of her and Naruto in a meadow, surrounded by millions of flowers, on a date. She barely replied in time.

"Oh, uhm, its ok Naruto. I'm sorry for making you worry." She was looking down so she didn't notice Naruto lean over to her. His voice so low that only she could hear it. She flinched and 'EEP'ed when he started speaking again.

"You don't need to apologize, Hinata-chan. I was only worried 'cuz you are one of my precious people." He hesitated before continuing. "And honestly, I think I lo…" He couldn't finish because of a soft _THUMP_ he heard. He turned his head and saw Hinata's head lying in the head rest of the chair with her eyes closed. She fainted. He sighed. _'Oh great, just hope Neji doesn't freak out.'_

But as it seems, fate was conspiring against poor Naruto. The Instant Neji saw Naruto carrying Hinata bridal-style; he got angry at Naruto and started jumping to conclusions.

"What the hell are you doing with Hinata in your arms and why is she unconscious!?" He shouted with anger in his eyes. Naruto only smiled sheepishly.

"Well, you see… long story short, we were coming home from school, I might have, possibly said something and then she fainted."

"I swear if you tried anything…" Neji started, but Naruto cut him off.

"Neji! Calm down. You know me; I would never hurt Hinata-chan!"

Neji's angry expression was replaced with a playful smirk. "Hinata-chan?"

Naruto drew back. "I-I mean H-Hinata."

"Hn." Neji's expression returned to a serious one. "Well, see to it that it doesn't happen again."

He reached over and grabbed Hinata from Naruto. Naruto reluctantly gave her to him.

"Yeah, I'll try." He saw Neji sneer at him. He sweat dropped. _'Damn, he needs to get a sense of humor.'_ Naruto thought before continuing. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I got somewhere to be right now. See ya later Neji." Naruto turned to walk away, but turned his face to look at Neji with a mischievous smile. "And when she wakes up, tell Hinata-chan I said good night."

Neji nodded, his facial expression as stoic as ever, and Naruto kept on walking, hoping tonight would go as planned. _'Hn. We'll see.'_

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**_(A/N)_**

**_So, did you like it? It took awhile to write this. Please review and tell me what you think of it. If you like it and want to me to keep writing, tell me and i will. I'd really like to but want to see if at least some people like it. If you think a friend would like it, tell them about this story. Just don't flame on it, don't lower my self-esteem. HAHA just kidding. But really, no flames please.  
_**

**_Trust me when I say that both Naruto and Hinata have worse things to worry about than being late to school. The problem is WAY bigger! But they'll get through it. Or will they? Want to find out, encourage me to continue, It'd be really appriciated. _**


	2. Let's begin, Dattebayo!

**_Haha, well, i'm back with chapter 2! I finished it about 6 days ago but my internet was out. Sorry! Good news is that i wrote chapters 3, too. Extra chapter instead of just one. But I got writers block. I know how i'm gonna end it, just don't know how i'm going to get there.  
_****_In this chapter, some more secrets will be told, just not all. Also, if it's not as good as chapter 1, then i'd appriciate it if someone told me where i can fix it to make it better. As far as the names goes, i don't know many japanese names, so be patient with me. If i'm doing ok, that's cool too. Enjoy the story!_**

**_DISCLAIMER: I've read enough fanfics to know i gotta say that i don't own anything about Naruto. Just the plot._**

* * *

Naruto looked at his watch and sighed, it read ten before four. During the ride home, Naruto was aloof to the rest of the world. _'I need to get ready, it starts in about five hours. That'll give me enough time to do my homework.'_ Naruto thought calmly, but outside his thoughts, his face was serious. When the wind blew in his car, it moved his shirt around. On the top left corner of his chest, you could see the same tattoo Kiba had on his arm. _'I'm doing this for you, Hinata-chan. Not for anyone else, only you!" _Before he reached his apartment, he saw a familiar looking yellow Ford Mustang and panicked. He parked behind the corner. _'Damn, how'd They find my house. Damn it, I thought They were supposed to be in The States."_ Naruto heard his cell phone go off and saw that Kiba was calling him.

"Yo"

_"Hey bro, They are at you house. I don't know how, but they are."_ Kiba said through the phone, panic evident in his voice. Naruto put the phone down and sighed. He heard Kiba say _"Hello, you there?"_ before answering.

"Yeah, I'm here. Look, call Shikamaru and ask him what to do. Right now, I'mma head to Hinata's house… No, I would just put her in danger if _They_ manage to follow me." Naruto thought for awhile. "I'mma hide at Jaraiya's house."

_"You sure? Last time you saw him, he said he never wants to see you again because you called him a pervert."_

"Hey, I caught him trying to peek at women when they were in the springs. Last time I checked, only perverts do that." Then he muttered "Damn pervert. Besides, when I tell him why I'm there, he'll let me in. After Shikamaru tells you what to do, call me and repeat what he told you to me." Naruto hung up his phone and headed for Jaraiya's house.

He got there in less than fifteen minutes, and then his phone rang. He picked it up not bothering to look who called.

"Yo"

_"Yo, Naruto."_ Said a familiar bored voice.

"Hey Shikamaru, what you need?"

_"Kiba told me what happened, I told him I'd tell you the plan."_

Naruto sighed. "So what are we gonna do?" He asked.

_"Since you can't go home and already at Jaraiya's house, you should stay there till you leave for the race with Sasuke, which should start in another five hours or so. I can't go because my mom's making me do chores and after that we gotta visit my cousin in jail. So troublesome. Anyways, Kiba will follow you to the racing spot to make sure you don't run into trouble. Tenten gave him a Desert Eagle 44 magnum to give to you and Sasuke while he got a Kel-Tec PLR-16 5.56mm pistol, just in case. She can't go either. Neji has a study-date with her at the same time as the race. When the race is over, if your house is still surrounded by Them, you will stay sleep at Sasuke's house. If for any reason you can't stay over at his house, you can sleep at my house and head out to your house by morning. I already asked my mom and she said you can stay over if you have to. Tell Kiba where you'll stay and he'll leave your clothes in the guest room. I left a spare key under the mat so you can get in if we're still out. There'll also be leftovers in the fridge incase you get hungry."_ Shikamaru explained.

"But won't Kiba get caught by _Them_?" Naruto asked.

_"Don't worry, remember he changed his hair color and style since the last time They saw him."_ Answered Shikamaru.

"Ok then, since you've seem to have everything planned out, I'll let you keep doing your chores." Naruto was about to hang up but stop when he heard Shikamaru say.

_"By the way, don't you dare get caught by Them and die on us. We still need you alive, especially Hinata."_ Shikamaru said.

"Hinata? What does she have to do with me being alive?"

_"It's not my place to say. Talk to ya later, better win, we're counting on you."_ Shikamaru then hung up, leaving a very confused Naruto on the other line. "What does Hinata even see in that baka?" Shikamaru smirked as he continued cleaning his room.

"He may have a higher IQ then anyone I've ever met, but sometimes I think he cheated on his test." Muttered Naruto as he knocked on Jaraiya's door.

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"Hinata. Hinata wake up." Hanabi has been trying to wake Hinata up for a while now. She sighed as her attempts failed. She got up and left the room. Minutes later, Hanabi came back with a small cup of cold water. Then dumped it on Hinata and she woke up.

"Ahh, c-c-cold!" yelled Hinata. Hinata then turned her head to see who splashed her with cold water. She saw Hanabi with an empty cup and scowled. "Why did you dump cold water on me?"

"You wouldn't wake up. Nothing else I tried worked so I thought this would work. Looks like it did." Hanabi said with a mischievous smile. Hinata sighed.

"Well, did you want something?"

Hanabi went into a thinking pose." Yeah, as a matter of fact, I got a call from Sakura; she said if you were going to go today?" Hanabi then looked Hinata straight in the eye. "What does she mean?"

It took Hinata awhile to realize what she meant. "Oh, ok. Thanks Hanabi." Hanabi pouted.

"Where are you going?"

"To Sakura's house. I forgot we have a project to finish."

"Hn, sure." exclaimed Hanabi.

Hinata looked around and just realized she was in her room. She looked at her digital clock, it read twenty till nine. She dialed a number on her cell phone and told the person on the other line to pick her up. She ran to her closet and got a hooded sweater and ran outside where a car was waiting for her. Before she got in, Neji's voice caught her attention.

"Where are you going?" He asked with his stoic expression on his face.

"It's starting soon. I won't be out long, promise. Have fun with your study date." She said with a smile. He looked inside the car and saw the driver. He nodded his head and watched his cousin leave until she was driven from his sight.

"Be careful Hinata." Was the last thing he said before going back inside to get ready for his study date.

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When Naruto finally got to Sasuke's house, he saw Sasuke sitting on the steps leading to his door. Sasuke noticed Kiba parked behind Naruto. Sasuke got up and walked up to Naruto's open window. "About time."

"Shut up, I'm here aren't I?" Naruto retorted. "Hurry up and get in."

"So what happened Naruto?" Sasuke asked his friend as he got in the car.

"Well, _They_ showed up again and were waiting for me at my house." Sasuke flinched and scowled at the mention of _Them_. "And now I gotta stay at your house until they leave, which might be till morning. That's ok with you?" Asked Naruto.

"Yeah, my brother is still spying on _Them_." Sasuke said in a matter-of-fact voice.

"I'm glad you forgave him, he's really helped us a lot." Asked Naruto. Sasuke nodded.

"Yeah." answered Sasuke. Sasuke thought back on his past, when he was eight. Sasuke was coming home from school. He entered his house and the first thing he saw was blood all over the living room. He gasped and went to go look for his parents. When he went into his parents' room, he saw his brother in the corner, shuddering while his parents lay lifeless on the ground surrounded by a pool of blood. His brother looked up and would've killed Sasuke if it wasn't for the police sirens. He got up and left the house. Days later, his brother returned to talk to Sasuke. He told Sasuke how a guy named Orochimaru drugged him when he went to go talk to him and that he joined _Them_. It took Sasuke days before he forgave him. It took Naruto everything in him to convince Sasuke to forgive his brother. Naruto saw Sasuke looking gloomy so he decided to change the subject a bit.

"It seems your brother really cares if he's still with _Them_. And you said he didn't." Teased Naruto.

"Hn. Maybe, but he sure has a weird way of showing it." Sasuke said. "Let's go, we don't want to miss the race, do we?" Sasuke smirked. Naruto nodded and they both went of to downtown Konoha, Kiba not far behind. "By the way, how was your stay with Jaraiya?"

"Don't ask, I barely got any sanity left after all the happened today." Said Naruto.

Sasuke just laughed. "Oí, remember that from here, I'm Takeo and your Suzaku." Said Sasuke/Takeo.

Naruto/Suzaku smirked. "Yeah, I remember 'Takeo'."

As soon as they reached their destination, they saw Kiba head back home. Suzaku and Takeo saw the three other racers there as they came out of the car. They both wore hoodies to hide their faces so no one could recognize them.  
One of the racers they first saw was 6' 2", wearing a black hoodie, black pants and white Nikes. He was leaning on a '96 grey Ford Mustang. What Suzaku found strange about this guy was that he was wearing sun glasses at night. _'Can he see at all right now?'_ The guy turned his head at his direction and nodded, almost as if knowing what he was thinking. _'Creepy…'_  
The second racer they saw was in a full body green jumpsuit with white Reebok on. His facial expression showed just how excited he was, basically screaming 'LETS START!'. His car was a green '89 Chevrolet Roadrunner with racing stripes on the side. This guy had a bowl cut and thick eye brows, which Naruto personally thought needed to be cut or something.  
The last racer caught his attention the most. It was a girl, probably around his age, maybe a bit younger. She was wearing a white hoodie, so you couldn't see her face. But some of her hair was sticking out of the hoodie so you could see some of it. She also had a nice figure, which strangely reminded of Suzaku of…

"Hinata…"

When he said that, the girl looked up for a second before looking back at the ground that she found interesting. Suzaku guessed her friend next to her was asking if she was ok since her friend was facing her and he could've sworn her voice sounded familiar. Suzaku found it suspicious but shrugged it off as someone spoke up.

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_'I knew it, it is him. Should've known.'_ Thought the female racer. She ignored her friend as she started asking her if she was ok. _'It's gonna be hard to race. I hope he doesn't recognize me.'_ She was brought out of her thoughts as she heard someone talking.

"It seems everyone's here, so how 'bout we get started…" Said a man that stepped into the light to show his face. He wore a hat that covered the upper part of his face ending at his nose. He had raven hair and was wearing an open black cloak with red clouds. He was well built, it showed as he wore his cloak with a tight white T under it, and he had on black pants and black Nikes. He was holding a small briefcase. "Racers, introduce yourselves to each other." Said the masked man.

"How about you first?" Suzaku yelled, though he already knew who he was.

"Hmm…" He paused.

"Come on already…" Yelled the female racer impatiently. The man stopped thinking and answered.

"Hmm. I don't see the harm in it." He cleared his throat before he continued. "I am your host for this race. So call me Itachi!" Finished Itachi.

"I guess I'll go next." Said the black hooded racer. "My name's Shino Aburame." Said Shino confidently. The man in the green jumpsuit went next.

"I am Rock lee." Said Rock Lee with all the excitement he had locked up inside him. Everyone sweat dropped and sighed.

Suzaku decided he might as well go next. "My name's Suzaku Namikaze and you better believe I'mma walk out of here with the prize money, Dattebayo!" yelled Suzaku as confident as ever. _'With him in this race, I'm sure it'll be one to remember.'_ Thought Itachi.

"Settle down, baka." Said Takeo and Suzaku just glared at him.

"So Suzaku, who's your friend?" Asked Itachi.

"The name's Takeo Kururugi. As for why I'm here…" He paused to look up at Suzaku and then at Itachi. "I'm the one who's gonna drive his sorry self to hospital after the race." Finished Takeo as he pointed at Suzaku. Everyone laughed.

"Oí, teme, who's side are you on?" Suzaku asked angrily.

"Ahem…" said a small voice. Everyone turned to said voice. "I'm Akemi Kurosaki." She was sitting on the hood of her red '07 Lamborghini Gallardo. On the hood was a picture of a rose and on the side of the car was the rose petals falling off. "And I am Mana Kurosaki. Even though we don't look like it, we're sisters. And if you have a problem with that, then feel free to choke on it." Akemi nodded in agreement. Suzaku and Takeo looked at both of them, feeling like they know them from someplace. Though it was too dark to see, both girls were blushing when they realized Suzaku and Takeo were looking at them. _'Get a hold of yourself, you already got a boyfriend.'_ thought Mana.

"So why do we all want this money?" asked Itachi.

"I need it to continue my research to help my insects. They seem to be dying from an unknown cause and I currently have no money to fund such research." Said Shino. Everyone sweat dropped.

"I need it to help Guy-sensei build his own dojo. I want to help him accomplish his dreams." exclaimed Lee.

"I need it to help support my family. My father got hurt and my family has no one supporting us right now." Said Akemi. Her voice hypnotized Suzaku. Takeo bumped his elbow to snap Suzaku out of it.

"Oh, uhm… I need the money to…"

"Ahem…" coughed Sasuke and said 'We!' between coughs.

"…We need the money to help us prepare for the future. Right now, we can barely afford to go to school. Also, both of us have girls we love and we plan on taking care of them with the money I win today and from future races. And no one here is going to stop us from achieving this! Believe it!" yelled Naruto. Sasuke smirked at his friend's speech.

"Well, now that we're all acquainted, how about we start the race?" said Itachi. Each racer was headed for their respective cars while Takeo and Mana joined Itachi on the sidewalk. When Takeo got closer to Mana, he thought she looked very familiar. But before Takeo could ask Mana anything, he was distracted by the sounds of engines revving up. When it got a little quieter, Itachi moved forward and spoke up.

"Alright, listen up!" Itachi shouted. "You're to head to downtown Konoha, then to the Hokage's tower and return back here." He paused. "Here are the rules. I don't care how you get there. In fact, I don't care if you even finish the race." Suzaku and Lee both had mischievous smiles on, Shino was expressionless and Akemi was scared, even though she didn't show it. "So basically, anything goes. Winner…" He stopped to show everyone the briefcase he was carrying. "…gets the prize money, and I'll let you keep the briefcase, though that's optional. The next time the light goes green, is when you'll start the race. Good Luck." Itachi finished up.

He was about to go back next to Takeo when Shino yelled. "Wait, what about traffic?" Itachi smiled creepily.

"What about it?" Lee, Shino and Suzaku smirked and Akemi remained impassive. "Just try not to crash, simple as that." Itachi finished up as the light turned green. Everyone was off in a flash, smoke now stood where the cars used to be.

Itachi grabbed Takeo and led him away from Mana until they were sure she couldn't hear them. "So, 'Takeo'… How's 'Suzaku' been?" Sasuke smirked. He knew sooner or later he would have to talk to his brother again.

"We've been fine Itachi. Though earlier today, _They_ were outside Naruto's apartment. Apparently _They_ know he lives there." Sasuke asked. Itachi let out a deep sigh. "For someone who's supposed to protect and help hide me and Naruto from _Them_, you're not doing a very good job." Said Sasuke.

"Well, the thing is _They_ suspect me of being a traitor. I know I am, but they can't know that. The only reason I came to this race was to warn you and Naruto that _They_ know you both live around here, though they're not entirely sure where. Something searching for you two until both of you are dead. After this _They_ are heading to China, I think. I suggest you both get out of Konoha. Go visit Gaara in Suna, or at least lay low." Said Itachi. Sasuke smirked at Itachi.

"Don't worry, Naruto and I have been fine so far, thanks to you. If something does happen, we can take care of ourselves. You did show us some moves to use when in a fight. We came prepared anyways, so don't worry so much." Sasuke said trying to reassure Itachi. Itachi nodded and they both went back near Mana who was sitting down looking bored. Itachi leaned over and whispered low enough so only Sasuke could hear him.

"She's pretty, isn't she?" Sasuke blushed. "She looks about your age, you should ask for her number." Itachi teased.

"I already have a girlfriend for your information!" Sasuke whispered back. Itachi just chuckled, then he saw two cars coming, the other two not visible.

"It appears the other two are out of the race. Oh well, can't be helped." Then Itachi noticed that something was slowly moving into the street. "Oh, crap."

Mana and Takeo looked at Itachi, confused. He saw their faces and pointed back to the race. When they saw what he was pointing at, Takeo and Mana's eyes widened and both had the same thought. _'Oh, crap!'_

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When the racers left the starting point, all hell broke loose. When they were crossing the bridge to get to downtown, they had to maneuver through the other cars. Half way in the race, Suzaku pit maneuvered Lee. Lee was spinning out of control until he crashed into a parked car on the side. Suzaku poked his head out his window and yelled while he laughed. "Sorry Lee. But remember, NO RULES!"

All three racers arrived to downtown pretty quickly and were heading to the Hokage's tower. Shino and Suzaku were currently tied for second as Akemi was in the lead. When they reached the Hokage's tower, the Akemi took a sharp U-turn. Suzaku almost crashed because of the turn while Shino rolled sideways after he almost crashed with Suzaku. He kept rolling until he was upside down, unable to continue to race. _'Damn it!'_ He thought. Akemi and Suzaku were the only ones left. On the way back to the finish line, Suzaku rolled down his window when he was next to her car. Akemi did the same.

"Nice U-turn back there!" He exclaimed. She smiled.

"Thanks. Nice Pit maneuver!" Akemi yelled back.

"Thanks, but your still not going to get the $5,000 prize money, Dattebayo!" He declared.

She giggled. "We'll see." Then she rolled up her window, sped up a bit, and was in the lead again. Suzaku laughed and caught up with her. Both were so close to the finish line and the race was about to finish. The race would've ended nicely, if it wasn't for the car that suddenly rolled in front of Akemi's car. She saw the car slowly roll in her way too, but she froze up. Suzaku noticed that she wasn't moving out of the car's way. Without thinking, he bumped his car into Akemi's, causing him to move in front of the car and Akemi to barely miss the car. Unfortunately for Suzaku, he spun around 5 times before coming to a complete stop. Suzaku came out of his car with minor injuries, nothing serious, and his car was still in good shape despite the fact of the crash. But when he saw Akemi pass the finish line, he grew disappointed. He carefully walked back to congratulate Akemi.

"Yo!" She looked back after hugging her friend when she heard Suzaku's. She smiled, but her face was still hidden under her hoodie.

"Hey!"

"Congratulations! Nice win." He said weakly.

"Thanks. And, thanks for saving me…" She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek before whispering in his ear. "…Naruto." She said it so quietly that Naruto almost didn't hear it, but he did. His eyes widened in shock while Akemi went back in her car and yelled to her friend. "Come on Mana. Collect the money and let's go home!" Mana got the briefcase from Itachi, got in the Lamborghini and went home. "What was that about Hinata?" asked Sakura as she took of the wig she wore that hid her vibrant pink hair. Hinata laughed.

"That was a 'thank you' to Naruto for saving me, again." She said with a mild blush as she drove. Sakura just stared at her, shock clearly shown on her face. She was speechless for about five minutes before she spoke again. Still unable to speak correctly.

"N-N-Naruto? T-That was Naruto?" She asked. Hinata giggled and then nodded. "S-So then t-the guy w-with him was…"

"I wouldn't doubt that that was Sasuke." Hinata answered her.

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When the two girls left, Sasuke went up to Naruto with Itachi following him. "What the hell was that, dobe?" He yelled, trying to get an explanation from Naruto. But Naruto wouldn't snap out of his daze. _'Whatever that girl told him, it was enough to stun him.'_ Sasuke's thought. "Dobe, I'm talking to…" Sasuke was interrupted when Itachi suddenly had a bucket of water in his hands and dumped it on Naruto. Naruto fell back from the sudden sensation of cold water.

"What? What happened?"

"I DON'T KNOW! I WAS HOPING YOU WOULD TELL ME! YOU ALMOST WON!" yelled Sasuke.

"Oh, I don't know. It just, I saw that she was going to crash and something inside me wanted me to save her. So I did." Naruto said, still a little dazed.

"Well this 'thing' inside is getting in our way! We need that money." Sasuke sighed and started to relax. He started to speak again. "So why did you freeze up just now? Did Akemi tell you something?"

"She knows…" Naruto stated while still on the floor. This left both Itachi and Sasuke confused. They both looked at each other. Itachi just shrugged and went to go wait for Kiba to pick them up before he went back to the Akatsuki.

"What does she know?" asked the still confused Sasuke.

"She knows who I really am." Then Naruto went silent.

"Damn. You know who she is?"

Naruto shook his head. "No." Sasuke sighed, he turned around and saw Kiba arriving.

"Come on, no point in staying here any longer." Sasuke said as he held his hand out to help Naruto up. He took it and they both headed for Kiba's car.

"Are we going to your house?" asked Naruto.

"No." Sasuke simply answered. Naruto tilted his head and raised an eyebrow at his long time friend.

"Then where?"

Sasuke smirked. "Weren't you listening earlier. I told you that I was going to take your sorry self to the hospital after the race. Come on, you look pretty hurt." Naruto's face flushed.

"No way, teme. I'm not that hurt." He reassured.

"Afraid?"

"No, I'm alright, really." Sasuke wasn't falling for it.

"What do you know? You're just a knuckle headed dobe."

Naruto's blood boiled. "Teme."

"DOBE."

"TEME." Kiba groaned, they always fought about everything.

"COME ON GUYS. I'M TIRED AND WE STILL HAVE SCHOOL IN THE MORNING!" yelled Kiba from the car. All he got was an "Hn, it's his fault" from both friends as they got in the car. The car ride was silent. Sasuke was driving since Kiba looked like he could fall asleep at any moment during the drive home. Naruto convinced Sasuke to head home instead of to the hospital. The whole time, Naruto was thinking who Akemi could be and how she knew who he was. Sasuke looked at his rear view mirror where he caught a glimpse of Naruto looking out the window and had a distant look in his eyes.

"Thinking about Hinata, dobe?" Sasuke asked with a teasing tone. Naruto only smiled while he laughed.

"Now I am, teme." _'Hinata-chan…'_ Naruto sighed. _'One day Hinata-chan, I'll tell you how I really feel.'_ Then he smiled at his next thought _'And I have a feeling that that day will be real soon…'_

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**Well? How was this one? Bad, sucked, horrible, ok, decent, not as good but still alright?  
Oh yeah, by the way, if i haven't said it before, then i'll say it again. Most chapters after the first one will be shorter. Though it will have more than 4,000 words. And if there are somethings that you, as my readers, don't understand, you can ask me and i'll explain everything without giving away much.  
Reviewing is the only way to keep this story alive. You don't want to kill it don't you? Then Review!**


	3. How could I've been so stupid

**Chapter 3 baby! Yeah! Whoo! After a week of no internet, i'm still alive. HAHAHA!**

**Anyways, in this chapter, i decided to slow it sown a bit. You know, make it a bit more fluffy. Warning to those who hate it when stories get fluffy, it gets pretty fluffy in here! Originally though, i was going to make it so only Naruto and Hinata make it a fluffy chapter, but i'm guessing some people would like Neji and Tenten in here too. So i thought, hey, why not. The beginning's not so fluffy.**

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own Naruto. Don't brag.**

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"Pein-sama, we just received word from Hidan, they say they waited for the target to return home but he wasn't there. Maybe he really doesn't live here." Said Konan. She was about 5'3"; short dark blue hair with a paper rose in it and was in her mid-twenties. She wore the same cloak Itachi did except this one was closed. She was in the Akatsuki that was run by Pein. Pein was had orange hair, many piercings, same cloak as Konan. His eyes were cold, dark and merciless, eyes similar to a sick murderer.

"Very well. Though I know he's there. Rumors say he stayed in Konoha and that a blond headed boy lived in that apartment. I doubt that he left Konoha. Maybe he knows we were looking for him." Pein calmly stated. Konan looked in disbelief.

"But that's impossible, only members of the Akatsuki know." Pein nodded.

"This means that someone's a spy. But who?"

"What about Itachi? He seems to be hiding something." Konan asked. Pein nodded.

"Probably, but everyone is hiding something. It's still too early to tell who the spy is." Pein groaned. "For now, just send Zetsu to spy around, I'm sure we'll get results soon." Konan nodded and went to go get Zetsu.

"So who are we looking for Pein?" said a figure in the Shadow. Pein turned to look at him.

"A dangerous person, founder/former leader and the second in command of an infamous gang that is said to have been formed right here in Konoha about five years ago. It was named after the most savage, clever, dangerous and powerful of the tailed beast that was said to have roamed these grounds long ago. It was called the Kyuubi gang. It had many strong members in it.  
Gaara of the desert, a real monster said to have killed many in just a short time. Until he befriended the leader and joined Kyuubi.  
Kakashi Hatake, the copycat Ninja of Konoha. No one really knows how he ended up joining, but was a real pain when Kyuubi was still formed.  
Shikamaru Nara, said to have the highest IQ ever recorded in Konoha history, helped the leader of Kyuubi come up with strategies and tactics.  
Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Mist. He was recruited after losing a fight to Kakashi. Kakashi would've killed him if the leader didn't offer him to join.  
Zabuza's apprentice, Haku, decided to join too. He is rumored to have vast knowledge of the human body and knows every pressure point in it.  
Kiba Inuzuka, best tracker produced in Konoha.

Two of the three sannin weren't in the gang but actually did support it. Tsunade was the one who handled the medical issues and Jaraiya was the one in charge of the spies and taught the leader how to fight. There were many more in Kyuubi; though some were just spies while others just did errands for the leader." Pein explained. The figure just nodded, so Pein continued. "The leader and the second in command are both by far the most dangerous in the group. It's said that the leader has defeated every member in his group, some from our group, and of Sound before he wiped them off. That's the only thing Kyuubi has done that has been useful to us. That idiot Orochimaru was a pain and I would've killed him myself if Kyuubi didn't already. He was also said to be undefeated in any fight. His second in command is said to be as dangerous and clever as the leader." The figure was confused.

"Tobi's still confused. So if the second guy in charge was cleverer than the leader, then why isn't he the leader?" asked the figure known as Tobi.

"It is not known. It's just how it is. Either way, they need to be eliminated. They have disbanded and yet they continue to be a pain."

"So who are they Pein?"

"They two pests are…"

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Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha… You're both late, care to explain?" asked Iruka while Naruto and Sasuke tried sneaking into class. They both woke up late and were in a hurry. They both still had the clothes from yesterday, but no one bothered to say anything.

"Alarm's broke and we woke up late." Explained Naruto while he rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile. Iruka sighed and told them to sit down.

Hinata was looking at Naruto, wondering if she should tell him that she knows about Suzaku and about the race yesterday. Naruto snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Ne, Hinata-chan. Did you do the homework for Asuma-sensei?" Hinata nodded her head and Naruto smiled. "Can I borrow it?" she nodded again and gave him the homework. "Thanks Hinata-chan, I owe you one."

The day resumed the same for Naruto, except this time he didn't get a detention. When he caught up to Hinata afterschool, he offered to walk her home. She agreed and they both started walking. Then they started talking about how their day was, Hinata even congratulated Naruto for not getting a detention. Hinata also mentioned that she suddenly received a huge amount of money. When Naruto asked her how she got it, she blushed and said she'd tell him later.

"So Naruto, What did you do yesterday?" asked Hinata with a smile. Naruto blushed for a second before answering.

"Oh, nothing. You know, just finished Asuma-sensei's homework, and watched some TV. Nothing special."

"Really? So why did you ask me for her homework?" Naruto gulped.

"Because, I… I needed to compare my answers to yours." He said. Hinata raised an eyebrow. She then started laughing.

"Yeah right." She had to stop talking because she was laughing too much. She continued after she caught her breath. "You're a bad liar you know that?"

Naruto sweat dropped, laughed sheepishly, and rubbed the back of his head at the same time. "W-What? What do you mean?"

"I know Naruto. More than you think I know." Naruto put on a serious face.

"What do you know?"

"That… That…" She stopped and stepped closer to Naruto. Naruto had no idea what she was going to do. She leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "That you race at night." Naruto stepped back.

"What!? What are you talking about Hinata-chan?"

"Naruto please don't lie to me. I already know you do, so you don't have to lie to me anymore." Naruto sighed and relaxed. Seeing as there is no point in lying anymore, he decided to explain.

"Yeah Hinata-chan. I do race."

Hinata's face only showed concern. "Why Naruto? Why do you race? It's very dangerous."

"Because… I need the money."

Hinata got mad. "For what? Your life's not worth risking for money. Is that the only reason why you race? To get money?"

Naruto sighed and looked down. He just couldn't look at Hinata at the moment. "No, of course not…" Naruto started but Hinata stopped him…

"Then why?"

"Because I can barely afford to attend Konoha High."

"So get a normal job, like every other teenager. What's wrong with that?"

"I can't. I won't explain now, but I can't get a normal job. And besides, at the end of the race, I get over $5000. No normal job can give me that money after just one hour."

"So it is about the money." Yelled Hinata.

Naruto kept talking without thinking. "It's not about the money…"

"Then why do you…"

"I race because of you Hinata!" Hinata was shocked and puzzled. Naruto lifted his head to look Hinata in the eye. _'What?' _she thought. "Actually, I race for you!"

"Why Naruto? Why are you racing for me?"

"Because Hinata, I didn't have the best childhood. I made a lot of stupid mistakes and some of them got me in trouble. I need to pay some people money to clear my name." Hinata was still confused.

"But what does this have to do with me?" She needed answers, and she was determined to get them.

Naruto let out a deep sigh and leaned forward. "Because…" He closed his eyes, brought his hand up to caress her cheek and kept getting closer until his lips met hers. Her eyes widened, she couldn't believe it. _'He's kissing me.'_ He reluctantly broke off the kiss and whispered softly.

"Because I love you Hinata-chan. I love you so much it hurts. I've loved you ever since I met you at the swings. You're all I think about when I'm not with you. You're all I see when I'm around you. Your voice is the only voice that I hear and the only one that can calm me down. Hinata-chan, you're all I dream about when I'm asleep and the only one I hold in my heart when I'm awake. I race so I can be with you Hinata. If I can pay off some people, I'd be able to be with you. To keep you safe from those people from hurting you to get to me. I don't care how great the risk is, if it's for you, I'd do it without a doubt. I race for you because I love you. I risk my life because I love you. And only you." Hinata looked down and started speaking.

"Are you telling me the truth, Naruto? Do you mean it?"

"Yes Hinata-chan, I'm madly in love with you." Hinata looked like she was about to cry and she leaned on Naruto. Naruto panicked when he heard her start sobbing.

"Please don't cry Hinata-chan. I'm sorry. I know you don't feel the same, but please don't…" He stopped when he heard something that sounded like laughter. He raised Hinata's face so he could look at her. He saw that she crying… and laughing?

"Hinata, are you laughing?" She looked up at him with love in her eyes.

"I'm laughing because I'm happy." She wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck and kissed him. Naruto was shocked for a second before responding. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed back. When they broke apart, she continued talking. "I love you, too. Ever since you saved me from those two jerks that tried to kick me off the swings."

Naruto smiled and his eyes held true happiness for the first time in a long time. He hugged her tightly, like she would disappear forever if he let go. "So… Want to be my girlfriend?" Hinata blushed, giggled and nodded. Naruto's smile widened and kissed her again, a little more passionately._ 'How could I've been so stupid.'_ "Come on; let's get you home before Neji kills me." Hinata nodded again. Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and they both started for her house.

"I love you, Naruto."

"I love you too, Hinata-chan."

Little did they know, someone was spying on them the whole time. Zetsu came out of hiding. He was about six feet and in his late twenties. He had the Akatsuki cloak and a shirt that was divided in half. One half was black, they other was green. He had green camouflage pants and blacks boots. "I'm sure Pein-sama will like to hear about this." Then he left to tell Pein of what he just learned.

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Meanwhile, Neji was pacing in his living room and Tenten was losing her patience. Neji's pacing was really getting on her nerves.

"Neji relax, I'm sure they'll be home soon." Reassured Tenten. Neji stopped and sat down next to her. "Anyways, she's with Naruto. As long as she's with him, she'll be ok."

"He better not try anything…"

"Oh, shut up. Everyone knows Naruto loves Hinata, except Hinata and vice versa. I know Naruto and he wouldn't try anything, just trust him."

Neji sighed, he knew she was right. "You're right."

A couple of minutes later, Tenten started talking again. "Hey Neji?"

"What is it Tenten?"

"What would you do _if_ Hinata and Naruto got together? You know, like a couple?" Neji's face looked like he swallowed week old milk. This made Tenten burst out laughing. "You should've seen your face!" she said in between laughs.

It took Neji a minute to compose himself. "That's not funny Tenten."

"What? The way your face looked or the idea of Hinata going out with Naruto?" Tenten asked.

"Both." Neji said as stoic as ever. Tenten sighed when she stopped laughing.

"What's wrong with Hinata going out with Naruto?"

"Hn. I don't trust Naruto alone with Hinata. Don't get me wrong, I trust him, just not alone with Hinata."

Tenten raised an eye brow at him. "Why?"

"I'm afraid he'll try something on Hinata. He's 18 years old. It's instinct that he tries something." Explained Neji. Tenten sweat dropped.

"You're so sexist. So you think only Naruto would try something. You don't think Hinata is possible of something like that?"

"Hinata? No. I know my cousin, she wouldn't do anything." Neji said confidently.

"Ok Neji, if you know you're cousin so well, how long has she had a crush on Naruto?"

Neji thought for awhile. "Ever since they first met, when they were both like six, seven."

"How long ago was that?" Neji started thinking again.

"About twelve years or so."

"And you don't think after twelve years, she wouldn't get impatient and just tell him that she loves him or try something." Neji realized that that could happen. He honestly thought she would've given up by now, not confess to him. "Besides, girls can do things too, like this…" Tenten got up and sat down on Neji's lap. They both blushed a little. "…or this…" She wrapped her arms around his neck to bring him closer to her and they looked at each other in the eye. "A girl could also tell him how stupid he's been for not noticing the obvious signs that she's liked him for a long time. How being around him makes… makes my heart beat faster. How his silver eyes put me in a trance. Or that he makes me happy just by being near me."

"Tenten, what are you…"

"I'm trying to tell you that you're stupid for not noticing the obvious signs that I've liked you for a long time. That you make my heart beat faster when I'm around you and sometimes when you look at me, your silver eyes put me in a trance… You make me happy just being around me. Neji, I'm in love with you, I have been for a long time." Neji was too shocked to reply, so she kept talking. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you Neji, you're so hopeless."

"Since when did you start loving me?" He finally asked.

"I think I always have. I just never really realized until that day you found me in the street unconscious four and a half years ago." Neji started to remember that day.

_[Flash back]_

_Neji was going home from school after Asuma asked him to help him clean up his classroom. He was still a house away from his house. Neji was wondering how Tenten has been. 'I haven't seen for three days, I hope she's ok.' He then noticed a figure laying in a ditch on the other side of the street. He figured it was probably just another drunk that fell asleep in the ditch after forgetting where he lived. He would've kept walking, but his natural curiosity got the better of him, so he crossed the street. What he saw terrified him and made his heart break in two. Tenten was lying in the ditch, unconscious and bleeding. "Tenten!" yelled Neji before appearing next to her. He checked her pulse, 'Barely noticeable.' And then he saw that she was losing color in her face. He brought out his cell phone to call 911, but a hand appeared out of nowhere and stopped him. When he saw who the hand belonged to, he gasped. "Tenten?"_

_"Don't! I'm ok. I might be bleeding, but it's nothing serious." She said weakly and drowsily._

_"I just can't leave you alone here, though." He said. Tenten chuckled at his statement._

_"I was hoping you wouldn't. I was kind of thinking you would take me somewhere where I can rest for awhile."_

_"OK, I'll take you to my house, it's just across the street."_

_"That sounds nice." She was about to go back to sleep when Neji shook her softly._

_"Don't go to sleep. You might not wake up if you do."_

_Tenten pouted. "But I'm tired. Can't you carry me while I go to sleep?" Neji found it adorable the way she pouted. 'I can't have such thoughts right now.'_

_"No. I'll carry you, but you're going to have to stay awake." She groaned and gave up._

_"Oooook." Neji smiled and let her climb on his back. He got up and headed for his house. When he felt her put her head down, he panicked._

_"Come on Tenten, you can't go to sleep on me." _

_She whined. "Yeah, yeah, I remember." She smiled. "You're so nice Neji. Why are you helping me anyways?"_

_"Because you're my friend. I want to help my friends whenever I can."_

_"Thanks."_

_"You're welcome."_

_When he got home, Hinata was sitting down in the dining room doing homework and Hanabi was eating cereal. They both looked up to see Neji carrying a barely conscious Tenten._

_"What happened to her, Neji?" asked Hanabi. Hinata got up and help him put her on the couch._

_"I don't know, I just saw her bleeding in a ditch."_

_"Why didn't you call 911?" asked Hinata._

_"She said not to."_

_"You're lucky I know what to do in this situation Neji." Hinata was examining Tenten's condition. "She's bleeding in her left arm and in her right leg, both look like someone cut her, but it's hard to tell. She hasn't lost too much blood, but we need to stop the bleeding. Neji get me the first aid kit under the sink in the kitchen. Hanabi, get me a wet cloth." Neji and Hanabi went to get the things Hinata told them to get. After Hinata cleaned up the blood, disinfected the wounds, and covered them up, she got up and sat down in the other couch. "There, she should be ok. She just needs to rest for awhile." Hinata looked at Neji. "By the way Neji, who is she?"_

_"Her name's Tenten, she's in the same grade as me and we have the same classes."_

_"Oh. I wonder why she was laying in a ditch in her condition."_

_"Me too."_

_About an hour or two later, she woke up. She looked around and didn't recognized the place. She sat up but her arm and leg wounds made her lay back down. "OW! Where am I?"_

_"You mean you don't remember?"_

_"Who's there?" she asked, reaching for something in her pocket. She realized that she was wearing someone else's clothes._

_"It's me Tenten, Neji." Neji said. She looked closer and saw that it was Neji. Then she realized something 'He must've changed my clothes.' She blushed at this thought. "Pervert" she said. Neji was confused by her accusation._

_"Why am I a pervert?"_

_"You changed my clothes. I know I didn't change myself."_

_"No, I got my cousin to change you. You and her both look about the same size in clothing. She also helped me heal you." He explained_

_"Oh, sorry" she said, the blush still in her face._

_"Don't you remember me finding you in a ditch?"_

_"All I remember is waking up to find you over me, trying to call 911. That's about it."_

_"Why did you stop me?"_

_She looked away. "I rather not talk about it right now."_

_"Ok." Hinata came in the room a minute later holding some food in a tray._

_"Oh, you're awake. That's good." She put the tray in the table next to her._

_"Who are you? Are you Neji's cousin?" Tenten asked. Hinata nodded._

_"Yes, I am. My name's Hinata Hyuuga. Nice to meet you Tenten."_

_"How do you know my name?"_

_"Neji told me when I was healing you." Tenten relaxed a little and then realized something._

_"Wait, you're Hinata Hyuuga?"_

_"Yes, have you heard of me?" she asked._

_"Yes, my friend never shuts up about you." Tenten said with a smile before frowning and covering her mouth._

_"Someone talks about me?"_

_Neji freaked out. "Who?"_

_"I'm sorry, I wasn't supposed to say that." Neji saw that she didn't really want to talk, so he exhaled noisily and got up._

_"Come on Hinata, let's leave so Tenten can get her rest." They were about to leave when Tenten spoke._

_"Wait Neji! Can I talk to you for a minute." He looked at Hinata and nodded, she nodded back and left whilst Neji sat down next to Tenten. _

_"What is it?"_

_"Thank you, for you know, saving me." Neji smiled at her._

_"Don't worry about it." She smiled back. "By the way, who's your friend that talks about Hinata a lot?" He asked._

_"Oh, uhm… I don't know if I should tell you…"_

_"Please Tenten."_

_Tenten sighed. "Just promise me that you won't tell anyone who it is. Especially to Hinata." He nodded. "His name's Naruto. I met him when I was in the orphanage. He's like a younger brother to me. We talked a lot when we were there, until we were old enough to get our own place. We still talk and occasionally hang out. When we do, he won't shut up about how pretty, or how nice or how perfect she is. It was sweet at first but now it's getting old."_

_"Naruto?" She nodded._

_"Yeah, do you know him?"_

_"He lives about a block away from here. Me, Hanabi and Hinata have been his friend ever since my parents and Hinata's parents died. Though Hinata has been his friend longer than I that, but he's a good friend."_

_"Yeah, someone who cares for all his friends." Neji smirked._

_"You know, Hinata likes Naruto, too. Just don't tell him." Tenten giggled and nodded. "You know, you have a cute laugh." Tenten stopped giggling and blushed. 'D-Did he just say…' '…that her laugh is cute.' They both thought._

_"R-Really?" she asked._

_"…yeah." _

_"Thank you." They both smiled and looked at each other. To Neji, it looked like they were leaning closer to each other. They were two inches apart. They both noticed how close they were and looked away and blushed._

_"Well, go back to sleep Tenten. When you wake up again, Hinata will give you your clothes and you can head home." She nodded and went back to sleep. Before she fell asleep, she could hear her heart was beating. She wondered if he could hear it, too. 'Do i like him? Is that why i fell like my heart's going to explode?' was her last thought before leaving the world of consciousness. Neji was leaving and turned back to look at her. His heart was beating rapidly and he had butterflies in his stomach. 'What does this mean? Does it mean I like her?' Neji left and walked to the kitchen to grab a snack. "What is this feeling?" he asked out loud._

_"It means you like her." Neji turned around and saw Hinata leaning on a wall. "You probably even love her."_

_"Oh, I didn't see you there Hinata."_

_Hinata ignored his comment. "That thing your feeling, it's called love." She said while smiling. Neji just sighed._

_"If it is love, then why don't I feel the same way with you and Hanabi."_

_Hinata laughed. "Some genius. It's different because me and Hanabi are your family. You love me and Hanabi, but you love Tenten differently. It's hard to explain, and probably even harder for your little boy brain to understand." She laughed when he scowled at her. "But you have stronger feelings for her because you share a bond with her that is unlike any bond you'll probably ever form."_

_"And how do you know this?" Neji asked with a smirk. Hinata took a step back._

_"W-Well, I-I'm a g-girl. I k-know this stuff." She replied and Neji still had the smirked._

_"Did you really know this because you're a girl…" Hinata gulped, knowing what he was going to say. "Or did Naruto help you realize this?"_

_"T-This isn't a-about me or N-Naruto. It's a-about you and Tenten." Neji's smirk was wiped off his face. They both sweat dropped._

_"Truce?" he offered_

_Hinata nodded. "Truce."_

_[End of Flash Back]_

Neji smiled at the memory. "Oh yeah." Tenten let her head lean on his shoulders.

"So…"

"So?"

Tenten hesitated. "Do you… Do you love me?" Neji let out a small chuckle and Tenten's heart broke. She was holding back tears. "I-I see." She let him go and got off him. She stood up and was about to leave but she felt something grab on her wrist. Before she could see what it was, it pulled her closer to it. Tenten realized it was Neji that stopped her. Neji let go of her wrist, wrapped his left arm around her waist, put his right hand on her chin and kissed her. Tenten's brain shut down after that and she went with her instincts. She let her tears fall as she kissed back. When they stopped for air, Neji started talking.

"Yes, I love you, maybe as long as you have..." She cried more as she hugged him tightly. _'How could I've been so stupid.'_ "It's ok, everything will be alright, I promise." It grew quiet and there was still something that was bothering him. "So How come you were lying in a ditch that day?"

"Basically because of who I hung out with." she said.

"So they beat you up because of who you associated with?"

"Yeah." Neji's eyes widened in shock.

"W-Why?"

"There's a certain group looking for him and because I hung out with him, they tried to use me to get to him."

"Who are these 'certain people'? And who are they after?" She would've replied but they were interrupted when Naruto came into the house giving Hinata a piggy-back ride while she giggled. "Naruto, you didn't have to carry me home."

"I know, I wanted to…" He stopped when he saw a teary eyed Tenten hugging an angry Neji. Naruto laughed sheepishly. "Uhm… Are we interrupting something?"

Neji's reply held anger in it. "Yes you are. And why is Hinata on your back?"

"Calm down Neji." Hinata said as she got off Naruto's back and stood next to him. "He just carried me from school. What's so wrong about that?" Hinata then smirked. "So… What exactly did we interrupt?" Tenten blushed and dug her head in Neji's chest.

Neji blushed as well. "W-Well… We… We were waiting for you!"

"So why is Tenten crying?" asked Hinata.

"Because… she thought that I… I didn't love her after she told me she loved me." Naruto laughed when Neji finished.

"You mean you didn't know she did?" Neji shook his head. This made Naruto laugh even louder. "And people say I'm slow."

Neji got mad and retorted. "You're one to talk."

Naruto calmed, let out a sigh and wrapped his arms around Hinata, causing her to 'EEP', which caused Neji to get angry again. "Yeah I know. I finally realized how stupid I've been. Right Hinata-chan?"

"No Naruto, you're not stupid." She said as she snuggled a bit closer to Naruto as he kissed the top of her head. Tenten squealed.

"So you two are together?" Hinata blushed and nodded as Naruto smiled like an idiot and rubbed the back of his head. She squealed again.

"What about you two?" asked Naruto. Hinata playfully hit Naruto. "What? I'm just curious." Tenten looked up at Neji as if asking him the same question. Neji just tighten his grip on her as he replied.

"Yes." This time, Hinata was the one to squeal as she hugged Tenten. Naruto just patted Neji in the back. "Good job Neji." Neji then grabbed Naruto by the collar and dragged him in the other room. The girls were too busy congratulating each other to notice that both boys left the room.

"Listen here Naruto. As much as Hinata loves you and I respect you, I swear, if you break her heart, I'll break your neck!" Neji expected Naruto to laugh sheepishly and say 'Yes, sir!' What he got instead caught him off guard.

"Fine, I'd never want to hurt my Hinata-chan. But the same goes for you Neji! You dare hurt Tenten in any way, shape or form, and I'll make sure you're pain is ten times worse. She is like an older sister to me. Hurt her, and I hurt you!" Neji never realized he could be this serious. He collected himself and nodded. "Deal?" Naruto said as he held out his hand.

Neji nodded again and shook his hand. "Deal." He said with new-found respect for the blond. And almost as if nothing happened, Naruto smiled.

"Now come on, they've probably noticed we've gone by now."

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**That the end of chapter 3. I like this chapter. When i reread it, i barely saw mistakes. But i doubt that it has no mistakes. Still, pretty good for Naruhina and Nejiten fans. It was hard writing the confessions without making them over-the-line sappy, but they still are. So... Sorry if it's too sappy for your liking. I would also like to say that it might get a little more confusing in future chapters, but if you have questions, i have answers.**

**Keep this story alive by reviewing, please. For every review for this story, a child in America will get an A. It might be you next, so review!**


	4. You might want to sit down for this

YO! Chapter 4 is done. Well, has been done. This one's a bit fluffy too. But it also explains Naruto's past a little bit, oh and i felt lazy so i didn't reread all of it. Which means it will have more mistakes than the least 3 chapters. And this is the second longest chapter. So enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not or ever will own Naruto, no matter how much i want to!

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_[This is one week after chapter 3. AKA time skip. Enjoy!]_

"No it's not!"

"Yes, it is!"

"What do you know!"

"What do _you_ know!"

"Guys, SHUT UP!" yelled Neji. Naruto and Sasuke have been arguing about where they were all going to take their girlfriends for hours and Neji was tired of it. "Forget you guys. You don't make the choice anymore, I do. And I say we are going to go to the Festival. Any problems?"

"Yeah, why do you get to choose?" Sasuke nodded in agreement with Naruto.

"Because both of you wouldn't stop arguing about where we're gonna take the girls for a date!" Neji pointed at Naruto. "You wanted to Ichiraku's" Then he pointed at Sasuke. "And you wanted us to watch a movie. Even though that's better," Naruto started mumbling about how Ichiraku's wasn't that bad. "…The festival is better. Do you still have a problem with it?"

"Yeah, I do. I still don't think…" Neji interrupted him.

"It doesn't matter what you think! It's about taking the girls out to a nice place, or at least taking them somewhere where all three of them won't get bored. Maybe Hinata is used to hanging out with you at Ichiraku's, but me, Sasuke, Tenten and Sakura aren't. The festival is a good choice because if we get bored, we can split up for awhile and do what we want. We meet up again before we leave, then every one goes home happy, got it… Naruto?"

Naruto sighed. "Yeah, I got it."

"Now that that's taken care of, we should go pick up the girls. Their probably done by now." Naruto and sasuke nodded and left Naruto's apartment.

At Hinata's house, the girls were getting ready. Sakura asked Tenten if she want to change her hair, but she told Sakura she liked it in a bun. Hinata and Tenten were helping Sakura with her make up. "So where do you think they're going to take us?" asked Hinata.

"Naruto will probably want to go to Ichiraku's, Sasuke will probably want to go somewhere private or where we wouldn't talk that much, and Neji probably suggested somewhere where he can show Tenten off." Said Sakura. Tenten laughed.

"Probably. But it would be nice to just to spend more time with Neji."

Hinata agreed. "I don't really mind if it's Ichiraku's or just renting a movie and staying home, if I'm with Naruto, then I'd be happy."

Tenten laughed "I guess." Soon, they heard the front door open and Hanabi welcoming the guys. "They're here!" said Tenten excitingly.

"Let's not keep them waiting ladies." Said Sakura. The three girls nodded and left the room.

When the girls entered the living room, they saw they guys sitting on the coach, Neji sat still, Sasuke slouched on the couch, and Naruto was fidgeting uncontrollably. Neji was wearing a silver shirt, black shorts and black high top Converse. He had his hair down.  
Sasuke had his hair normal as well. He was wearing a red sweater with a white muscle shirt, black shorts and white Jordans.  
Naruto was the one that shocked all the girls. His hair was a bit neater then usual, and there was no inch of orange on him. Instead, he had a blue long sleeve shirt, black jeans, and blue, white and black high top Nikes. Just before the guys could see them, Tenten nudged Hinata with her elbow. "he must really love you to change his entire image." Hinata blushed at her comments and they went into the living room.

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Naruto was fidgeting uncontrollably in the couch. Everyone knew it, even he knew it. _'I wonder what Hinata looks like. Probably as beautiful as ever…'_ he stopped thinking when he heard someone waling down the stairs. When he looked up, he saw all three girls. Every guy in the room starred in awe at their dates. Sakura was wearing a pink T-shirt holding a white sweater, white skirt and pink and white high heels. She let her short hair down, brushing her shoulders. If Sasuke didn't have any self-control, he would jump on Sakura and kissed her until he needed air.  
Tenten was wearing a light red Chinese style shirt, black Capri's, and black sandals. She had her hair done in her normal bun. She also had a little eye shadow courtesy of Sakura after she wouldn't stop bugging Tenten to at least wear a little of it. Neji thought she looked beautiful and how elegant she walked.  
Naruto didn't even give a second glance at Sakura or Tenten, all he saw was how beautiful Hinata looked. She had a light lavender tank top under a light blue sweater. She wore white pants and had white and purple high top Converse. The way she gracefully walked to him took Naruto's breath away. Simultaneously, all girls said… "How do I look?" All guys were speechless and the girls giggled.

"I think they're saying we look beautiful in guy language." Said Sakura. The three guys nodded unintelligently.

"Why thank you, Naruto." Said Hinata and then kissed him. The other two girls did the same. When the stopped, Naruto was the only one to regain his voice.

"WOW!" Neji and Sasuke nodded unintelligently again. "Uhm… come on, we decided to take you girls to the New Years Festival." The girls' squeals got Sasuke and Neji out of their day dreams and smiled at them. Naruto, with Neji and Sasuke copying him, held out his hand and said "Shall we?" Hinata blushed and giggled before grabbing his hand. The three couples left the house. They left in this order: Naruto and Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura, then Neji and Tenten since he had to lock up after Hanabi left to a sleep over at Moegi's house. Naruto, Hinata, Neji and Tenten went to Naruto's car, while Sakura went with Sasuke to his car. Naruto fixed his car since the last race. Naruto left Hinata's house while Sasuke followed. Sasuke's car was the same car as Naruto's except the design was on both sides of the car instead of the hood and it was red, not black.

When they arrived the whole place was full of rides, games and food stalls, and people. It was located in the mall's parking lot. It was huge! Everyone just stared in awe after they parked.

"So are we just gonna stand here or go in and have a fun?" Naruto said. Everyone nodded and headed into the festival. When they entered Naruto grabbed Hinata by the waist and yelled. "I'll see you guys later. Come on Hinata-chan!"

"Wait Naruto, it'd be rude if we just… whoa!" Naruto pulled her away before she could finish. Sasuke and Tenten sighed with a smile while Sakura and Neji looked mad.

"Well, not much we could do now. We might as well follow Naruto's example and split up. We'll meet back here at the entrance before we leave. If any of you see Naruto or Hinata, tell them that." Neji, Sakura and Tenten nodded and split up into two groups. Neji went with Tenten and Sasuke went with Sakura.

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After they left the group, Naruto stopped in front of a roller coaster. "Want to ride this one?" It was called "The Dip." It rose up 20-30 feet in the air and went straight down. Hinata looked at it with wide eyes. 'Hell no!' she yelled in her head but the words wouldn't form in her mouth. When Naruto saw the look on her face, he decided that maybe he should take it easy when it came to the rides. "Uhm, actually…" He looked around for a decent ride, high enough to satisfy him but slow enough for Hinata. "That one!" When Hinata looked at what Naruto was pointing at, she let out a sigh of relief. It was one of those rides where there is an octopus holding three carts in each tentacle and spins it around in a circle while the whole ride spins as well.

"Sure Naruto, I'd love to." Naruto smiled and led Hinata to the ride. When they got on, Hinata was starting to have second thoughts. Even though it's not as scary as the other one, it was still fast. Naruto saw doubt written all over her face. So he put one arm around her waist, kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly. She tensed up for a second before relaxing in his embrace. "Thank you Naruto." He smiled his signature fox-like smile while the ride started.

When they got off, Hinata was a little bit wobbly while Naruto laughed. "You alright, Hinata-chan? You seem a little… off." Hinata nodded.

"I just need to sit down for a minute." Naruto looked around for something. When he found what he was looking for, he put his attention back on Hinata.

"Hey, Hinata-chan. Mind if you stay here for a second. I'm going to get cotton candy and a soda. Do you want anything? I'll pay." Hinata went into a thinking pose. She answered when she thought of something she wanted.

"Yeah, get me a soda, too please. If you don't mind." Naruto smiled.

"As nice as ever, ne, Hinata-chan?" Hinata blushed and Naruto leaned down and he kissed her before leaving. As soon as he was sure she couldn't see him, he turned the corner and jumped on the roof of a food stall. He walked up behind a figure and pushed him off the roof. The figure fell flat on his face.

"Ow!" said the figure. Naruto sneered at him.

"Pervy sage, what the hell are you doing on the roof of that stall?" Jaraiya got up and smacked Naruto on the head. Jaraiya had long white hair. He wore a long, red jacket and wore a fish net armor under a white shirt. He had pale green shorts and wore Chinese sandals.

"Why the hell did you push me?"

"Because I had a feeling that you were doing more of your so-called 'research.'" Jaraiya looked away and started mumbling something Naruto didn't understand.

"Ehh! Speak up!"

"I was actually checking up on you and your date, which by the… is a perfect 10!" Jaraiya said as he gave 2 thumbs up, only to be smacked on the back of the head by Tsunade. Tsunade was a very busty blond. She was wearing a long, green jacket that had the kanji for 'Legendary Sucker' on the back. She wore a light green shirt that showed some of her cleavage. She had white Capri's and wore the same sandals as Jaraiya.

"Stupid pervert!" she said before looking at Naruto. "Actually, we're here to chaperone the festival, he just happened to see you with Hinata. Don't let him spoil your night." Tsunade then she lifted up the half-conscious Jaraiya up by the ear. "YA HEAR THAT YA PERVERT. DON'T YOU DARE INTERRUPT NARUTO'S DATE! GOT IT!?" she asked. Jaraiya just nodded.

"Thanks Granny Tsunade." Tsunade was about to retort when she heard Jaraiya speak.

"Naruto, there's another reason why I followed you." He said it so seriously it spooked out Tsunade and Naruto. "I got a message from Gaara and Zabuza saying that they were each attacked by men and women in black cloaks with red clouds…" Tsunade had already let go of his ear so he could talk and stand up straight.

Naruto scowled. "Akatsuki…"

Jaraiya continued. "Yes. They asked me to inform you that they're thinking about reforming Kyuubi. They also said it does not have to permanent. Just until the Akatsuki surrender or are eliminated. They already asked everyone and they agreed. They're waiting for you, Sasuke and Tenten to reply." Before Naruto could respond he heard someone yell.

"No! Leave me alone!" _'That sounds like Hinata.'_ Naruto thought. Before Jaraiya could say anything else, Naruto headed back to were he left Hinata.

"Come on Jaraiya. I have a feeling that he might need us to calm him down." Tsunade then started walking in the direction Naruto ran off to. Jaraiya let out a heavy sigh and nodded.

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Hinata stayed seated for about two minutes before she felt someone tap her shoulder.

"Did you get me my…" She stopped when she realized that the person was not Naruto. It was a guy with black, spiky hair. He had a faded black shirt, white shorts and black Reeboks. He was smiling at her.

"Hello there, pretty lady. What are you doing here all alone?" Hinata started getting scared.

"A-Actually, I-I'm h-h-here with m-my b-boyfriend." The man's smile disappeared. He sighed before speaking again.

"That's a shame. His probably nothing but some poor, idiotic guy…" His smile reappeared. "…but you look smart and wealthy. So how about making the smart choice of coming with me before I get mad." Hinata shook her head.

"N-No. I'll stay here until my boyfriend gets back." She got over her stutter when he insulted her Naruto. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to be alone." She turned her back on him. He got mad and grabbed her hand hard.

"You're coming with me anyway!" She struggled to break free, but couldn't.

"No! Leave me alone!" He dragged her about two feet away from where she previously was before someone punched the guy in the face, which made him let go of Hinata. She fell from the sudden movement.

"Ahh! Who the hell are you?"

Naruto stood in between the guy and Hinata. He was so angry that he felt that if he had a weapon, he wouldn't hesitate to use it. "Her boyfriend!"

"So you're her boyfriend?" the guy said as Naruto helped Hinata up. Hinata was smiling. "Too bad, now I have to kill you. You see, I'm in the Akatsuki…" he turned around to show a red cloud on the back of his shirt. "… we have a code in my group. If you get hit, hit back harder." He ran up to Naruto and tried to punch him. Naruto pushed Hinata away, hard enough so she doesn't get in the way, but soft enough that she doesn't trip on something and falls. Naruto ducked and punched the guy in the stomach. He flew three feet away from Naruto before coming to a complete stop. He held his stomach. _'Damn, he punches hard!'_ thought the guy.

Hinata sighed in relief. "Naruto!"_ 'Naruto!?'_ the guy thought. She ran up to him and hugged him while she cried. "Thank goodness you came Naruto…"

"Shh… it's ok Hinata-chan. I'll always be around to protect you from anything, I swear." Naruto kissed Hinata after he said that. "Now please stand back, I wouldn't want you to get hurt." She nodded and stepped back.

The guy panicked. "Y-You mean… you're N-Naruto?"

Naruto turned his attention back to the Akatsuki member. "Akatsuki, huh?" Naruto asked before driving a fist into the guy's face. The guy fell back and looked up, fear evident in his eyes. "If you're in the Akatsuki, you wouldn't mind giving Pein-teme a message for me." He lifted the guy up by the collar. "Tell the teme I've had enough of him and the Akatsuki. Tell him I decided to fight back." Naruto pulled his fist back and was about to hit the guy. Except Tsunade appeared out of nowhere and stopped him whereas Jaraiya appeared behind the guy and knocked him unconscious.

"So I guess I'll tell Gaara and Zabuza that you said yes?" Naruto nodded and walked back to Hinata. He turned around to say one last thing to Jaraiya and Tsunade.

"Oh, and can you do me a favor? Can you ask Tenten and Sasuke about rejoining?" Tsunade nodded. "Thanks!" and he continued walking to Hinata.

"Great, he leaves us with this guy. What are we gonna do with him anyways?" inquired Jaraiya, Tsunade smirked.

"Tie him up, get rid of his weapons and leave him somewhere." She turned and walked away. Jaraiya started mumbling.

"Why do I gotta do it."

"Are you alright, Hinata-chan?" questioned Naruto. She nodded, a couple of tears still in her eyes.

"Yes, I am Naruto, thanks to you." She hugged him again, this time harder. He chuckled when she started nuzzling her head against his chest.

"Don't worry Hinata-chan. I'll always be near to protect you. Dattebayo!"

She giggled. "This is the third time you saved me, you know that, Naruto?" Naruto was confused.

"Third? I thought this was the second." Hinata eyes widened.

"I-I meant s-second!"

"Hinata-chan, you're stuttering. I know you're lying. Now what do you mean Third time? When was the second one?"

Hinata sighed. "When you used your car to push my car out of the way of the car in front of me."

"But you weren't there, how would…" Naruto stopped when he realized what she said. He suddenly had a flash back of the race. When he saw the girl standing near her car. When he congratulated her, and when she thanked him for saving her life, kissed his cheek, and calling him by his real name. "Akemi Kurosaki?" She nodded, and he looked at her as she looked at the ground. "About a week ago, you gave me this whole speech on the dangers of racing and you race too? You lied to me?" She nodded again, she was expecting him yelling at her for being hypocritical and that he was going to break up with her. She braced herself for whatever he threw at her. But she wasn't expecting him too raise her chin and kiss her. When he broke it off, he looked at her in the eyes. "I forgive you Hinata-chan." She was stunned.

"W-What?"

"I forgive you Hinata-chan." He repeated.

"You're not mad?"

He shook his head. "Nope."

"Why not?" He looked away.

"Because I've haven't been completely truthful to you." She titled her head.

"What do you mean?"

"I have been hiding part of my life from you." She rested her head on his chest. "I've hid that part of my life from you because I was afraid that if you found out, you'd hate me."

"I don't care what you've done in the past, Naruto. I could never hate you." She looked at him and he looked at her. "I love you. And if you love me too, the least you can do is tell me about the life you're hiding from me. So please tell me, Koibito."

Naruto nodded. "Let's get some snack first, then I'll tell you…" His stomach growled. "Because I'm hungry." Hinata giggled and nodded. This time, Hinata went with Naruto to get the snacks. When they got the snack, they sat down on a table across from "The Dip." "Ok, you see, it's like this…"

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Sakura and Sasuke just came out of a ride called "Twister." "That was sooooo fun Sasuke!" Sakura yelled. Sasuke acquiesced.

"You hungry yet Sakura?" She shook her head. "Me neither." Sasuke looked around and saw Naruto talking to Jaraiya and Tsunade. _'What're they doing?'_ Sakura asked Sasuke something he didn't hear.

"Hello, Sasuke, did you hear me?"

"I'm sorry Sakura, what did you say?"

"I said do you want to ride more rides, or do something else?" Sasuke started thinking.

"How about I win you something?" he asked, and her eyes lit up.

"YES! Come on, let's go to that one!" She pulled Sasuke to the balloon popping game. The guy working the stall was reading a book. He had a red vest with a black shirt, blue jeans, and sandals. He looked up from his book and saw Sasuke and Sakura. As soon as he saw Sakura, he put his book down and started flirting with Sakura.

"So pretty lady, my name's Tamaki, like anything you see?" Sasuke got mad and Sakura ignored his comment.

"We're here to win a prize, teme. Now give me four darts." Sasuke said as he slammed a dollar on the table. The guy named Tamaki sneered at him and gave him three darts and threw the fourth one. Fortunately for Sasuke, he had good reflexes and caught the dart headed for his heart with his index and middle fingers. "Nice try." Tamaki scoffed and let Sasuke throw the darts. The balloons were separated from each other by two inches and were in a line going horizontal. Sasuke threw all four darts at the same time. The four balloons exploded from the impact. Tamaki groaned, Sasuke smirked and put his arm around Sakura shoulder and she giggled.

"Lucky shot." Said Tamaki.

"If you say so. So what so you want Sakura?" Sakura looked at all the prizes. Then she saw a large pink, plush bear. She pointed at it and Sasuke nodded. "She wants the pink bear."

"I bet she rather want to be with me," Sakura started giggling and Sasuke got mad!

"What'd you say?"

"Look at her, she's even laughing because she knows it's true."

Sakura shook her head. "You got Sasuke mad."

"Sasuke?" Sasuke grabbed Tamaki by the collar.

"You think you know what she wants?"

"So you're Sasuke Uchiha?" Sasuke nodded and Tamaki laughed. "You better be careful _Sasuke_, I'm in the Akatsuki. You know we're looking for you. Ha-ha, and I was scared of you when they described you, you don't look like a threat to me. Still, you wouldn't want our leader coming here to kill you and your girlfriend. Though I might convince him to let me keep the girl." By this time, Sasuke had enough of Tamaki. Sakura shook her head at his stupidity. Sasuke threw a punch straight at his head. When it connected, the guy soared across the stall and landed on the balloons. Sakura, and everyone around who saw Tamaki fall, laughed at him and Sasuke only smiled. Tamaki got up an ran at Sasuke. He managed to hit him in the face, but Sasuke didn't fall. He stood still and looked at Tamaki.

"Akatsuki? Hn, last time I fought one, he was more of a challenge. Are they just letting anyone join or are they this naturally this weak?" Sasuke spun around and sweep kicked him, flipped in the air and landed an axe kick to Tamaki's stomach when he fell. Sasuke dusted himself off and saw Tamaki knocked unconscious.

"Don't you think you over did it?" said a voice behind Sasuke. Sasuke turned around and saw Shikamaru. He was as tall as Sasuke was, wearing a dark green shirt that said 'Lazy genius, do not disturb!' and black shorts with black Converse. His hair was up the made it look like a pineapple. His hands were in his pockets and he looked like he hasn't slept in days.

"No!" Shikamaru sighed. Almost immediately, Tsunade and Jaraiya walked up to the three with a comatose guy on Jaraiya's shoulder.

"I'm guessing you did that, right Sasuke?" asked Tsunade. He nodded and Jaraiya sighed.

"And I'm guessing I need to clean this up too?" Tsunade nodded.

"Naruto knock the guy out?" Tsunade shook her head.

"I did. Naruto would've killed him if I didn't stop him."

"Hn, should've let the Dobe kill him. If that guy did the same thing as this guy did, I'm amazed that that guy isn't dead."

"This is troublesome. They just won't quit." Shikamaru added.

"Tsunade, don't forget to ask him." Jaraiya said as he tied up Tamaki. She nodded and looked at Sasuke.

"Naruto told me to ask you if you're going to rejoin?"

"Why? I thought we agreed to disband?"

"I can't explain now, but it would be smart to rejoin. It's up to you." Sasuke nodded.

"When you see him, tell him I said yeah." Tsunade left with Jaraiya after he tied up both Akatsuki members.

"Might as well go with them, Tamari left early so she could make it to Suna before midnight. See ya later Sasuke, Sakura." Shikamaru said as he left.

"So Sasuke. Why exactly is Akatsuki after you?"

"Because…" Sasuke sat down on a chair and motioned for her to sit next to him. When she did, he continued.

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"Tenten, you sure you want to ride this?" Neji was starring at a ride called "Outta Control!" Tenten nodded.

"Yup! I'm sure." She grabbed Neji's hand and led him to the line. "Don't tell me your afraid Neji." Neji scoffed, as if she said something stupid.

"I'm not afraid, I'm just concerned about you." She let out a small laugh.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Neji was calm and Tenten was ecstatic when they got on the ride. The ride rose up and after a second of waiting, it went off like a bullet going down until spinning up three times, running underwater but not getting them wet thanks the underground tunnel and taking a U-turn back to the starting point. Both Neji and Tenten were dizzy. Tenten wasn't watching were she was going and bumped into a guy with a long T-shirt with red clouds, black jeans and black sandals. "Oh, I'm so…" When she saw who she bumped, she couldn't speak. She was filled with anger and fear. "You…"

The man smirked. "Is that all you have to say to me after all we've been through, Tenten-chan?"

She got mad. "Don't you dare call me that! After leaving me to die, you have no right to even look at me, let alone call me 'Tenten-chan'!" She screamed. Neji went ballistic after he heard Tenten. He grabbed the man and shouted at him.

"So you're the one who left her in that ditch!" Neji spat.

"Not me, my men. She decided to join Kyuubi, she was a threat to me and the Akatsuki. I had to do something."

"That still doesn't mean you should've left her to die!" The man made Neji let go of him and he backed up.

"I'm not here to fight, I'm here to scout." Neji was puzzled but was also angry. Tenten started talking again.

"For who? Me? Naruto? Sasuke?" The man just smirked.

"Not only you three, but the rest of Kyuubi. I have more of my subordinates here, on the look out for them, I guess I'm lucky I bumped into you. But not so much since you have your boyfriend with you." He looked at Neji in the eye. "If I were you boy, I wouldn't associate with scum like her." He disappeared before Neji could try to massacre him. Neji took deep breathes before calming down. Once he was calm, he turned his attention to Tenten.

"Kyuubi? As in the tailed beast?" Tenten shook her head. Neji's eyes widened. "The gang?" She nodded. "You were in Kyuubi?"

"Yes, I was for awhile, but we decided to split up for everyone's sake."

"Wow, Tenten. That's why you were lying in that ditch." She nodded. "So why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I've told people before and they left me alone. They didn't want to get hurt because of me."

"So, why did you join?" She looked away.

"Well, our leader was a kind man. He had a good heart and only made Kyuubi to help out people he cared about from people from Akatsuki and Sound. I joined because I had the same ideals as him. He offered me protection, but I asked to fight with him, or at least help out."

"So Naruto and Sasuke were in Kyuubi, too?"

"Yeah."

"So what did you do?" She sighed.

"I helped supply the weapons." Neji just stared at her in surprise. "I was also the one who dealt with enemies from long ranges. I never killed, just injured."

"So who was the leader?"

"…"

"Hey, guys!" Naruto yelled, followed by Hinata, Sakura and Sasuke.

_'It's official… Naruto has the worst timing ever.'_ Thought Neji.

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*Five minutes earlier* "So you're the leader of Kyuubi? One of the most dangerous gangs ever to exist in Konoha history?" Naruto nodded and Hinata was stunned. "Why? Why are you their leader?"

"Because I'm also their founder. I made Kyuubi to protect those who are precious to me."

_[Flash back]_

_Naruto was walking home from school. He was eleven years old and was pretty tall for his age. He didn't want to be bothered by the busy streets so he took a detour. The street he was on was deserted. Naruto was mumbling something about how stupid Kaguya-sensei was for giving him a detention. Again._

_"I mean come on, I didn't mean to hit Ino with the kickball. It just sort of happened."_

_"What did you do this time Naruto?" Naruto turned around to see Kallen with her hands on her hips. Naruto laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. Kallen was the only girl his age, besides Sakura, that scolded him for his mistakes. She had light brown hair that reached her mid-back. She had on a yellow shirt on, a black skirt and black Nikes. Unlike the other kids, she didn't have a book bag. She always carried a binder that had all her stuff, which still baffled Naruto._

_"N-Nothing! Why's it always my fault?"_

_"Because it usually is." She laughed when he pouted at her statement. "Come on, you know it is. So what happened?"_

_"I kicked a ball that accidently hit Ino." Kallen shook her head in disappointment. "What? How was I supposed to know it was going to hit her?" Kallen was about to say something, but someone bumped into her. She was fuming when the guy wearing a black cloak with red clouds kept walking. He had blond combed back and was carrying a huge scythe-like weapon. _

_"Hey, you with the scythe! Apologize to me now!" The man stopped and turned around. He gave Naruto an uneasy feeling._

_"Forget about it Kallen. It's not like he meant it."_

_"But he still should apologize." Retorted Kallen. The man was starting to become irritated._

_"Ne, what do you booger-eaters want? I'm too busy to play with you knee-biters" Naruto got mad, no one gets away with making fun of him._

_"Hey old man, all she wants is an apology. Are the words really that hard to pronounce. I'M… SAW-RY… say it with me now." Naruto could tell this guy was mad because he could see a throbbing vein popping out of his head._

_"What you say, brat?"_

_"You heard me!"_

_"You're a pain. And I have just the remedy!" The man pulled out his scythe. Kallen pulled Naruto out of the way before he could get sliced in half. "Pretty good reflexes kid, but that still won't save you." He swung his scythe once more, but with more force. Kallen dodged it, but just barely. He left arm and a part of her side was cut._

_"Damn it!"_

_"Kallen!" Naruto shouted. He had enough and picked up a metal pipe. "That's it!" The man was about to swing again and finish Kallen when Naruto stopped him with the pipe._

_"Nice one! But see if you can block me again after I get rid of the pipe." The man spun the scythe around continuously, knocking the pipe from Naruto's hand and leaving a nice cut on his arm. "What now brat?" Naruto still stood over Kallen, determination and anger visible in his eyes._

_"I'll still protect my friend, I don't care what happens to me. I won't leave my friend for dead just because I'm starring death in the face. I'll spit in death's face. I'll laugh at death's face. I don't care, but I won't let you kill my friend. Not as long as I'm alive."_

_"That's very touching kid." The man lifted his scythe over his head for the finishing blow. Naruto spread his arms while standing in front of Kallen. "Too bad, you probably would've been a great leader and motivator." Naruto closed his eyes and waited for the pain. The pain never came. When he opened his eyes, he saw a masked man with a kunai in his hand, blocking the scythe from killing him, Naruto and Kallen. The mask the man was wearing covered the bottom part of his face, starting from the nose. His black bandana covered his left eye. The masked man had grey, spiky hair. He was wearing a black muscle shirt under a red, sleeveless jacket with black jean shorts. He also wore old, black and red Nikes that looked like they would fall apart at any moment._

_"Eh!? Who the hell are you?"_

_"Not so tough when you're facing someone your own size, are you!?" Both men grunted as they fought for dominance as Naruto ran to call for help. The man knew he would lose to the masked man if a test of strength. So he pulled back and held his weapon in a defensive position. The masked man smiled behind his mask. "Finally realized you're no match for me." The other man put his scythe away and walked up to a yellow Ford Mustang._

_"Like I said to the brats," Naruto came back with a nurse. "I'm too busy to play around. I, Hidan, am too important to waste time with you scum." He drove away after that. The masked man went up to Naruto after he was sure Hidan was gone and Kallen was taken by the nurse to the hospital. He saw Naruto's worried face._

_"Don't worry kid, she'll be ok. You ok kid?" The man crouched down to meet Naruto at eye level. Naruto let a weak smile appear on his face and nodded. "That was pretty stupid, standing up to an adult as dangerous as him." Naruto sulked. "So why didn't you run when you knew you were going to die?" he asked._

_"Because those who kill for the hell of it are scum, but those who leave there friends are worse than scum!" The masked man smiled._

_"What's your name kid?"_

_"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki. Remember that because some day, I'll make a name for myself, believe it! So what's you're name old man?"_

_The masked man laughed. "I'm not that old, only twenty-one years. My name's Kakashi Hatake."_

_"Thanks for saving me Kakashi." Naruto said as he smiled._

_"No problem, Naruto." Kakashi reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "Here, take this." He gave Naruto the piece of paper._

_"What's this?"_

_"This is my phone number. Whenever you're in trouble or need something, don't hesitate to call. Alright?" Naruto nodded and Kakashi smiled. "Good." He was about to leave but Naruto grabbed on his shirt._

_"Actually, there is something you can do for me."_

_"Oh? And what is that?"_

_"Can… Can you teach me how to fight?"_

_"I could. But why would you want to…" Naruto didn't let him finish._

_"Because I want to protect the people I care about." _

_Kakashi nodded. "Ok, meet me at this address and we'll start their."_

_"And would you mind if I brought a friend?"_

_"I don't know."_

_"Please, he's my best friend and I'm sure he'd like to know how to fight for the same reason." Naruto pleaded. Kakashi stayed quiet and Naruto didn't want to say the wrong thing._

_"Hmm, I guess. As long as you both promise to keep quiet about it." _

_"I promise, and I'll make sure he does, too."_

_Naruto told Sasuke about the whole thing and he agreed. After two years of training under Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke were almost as good as Kakashi, though they never did win a spar. Naruto had an idea during spar with Sasuke._

_"Yo teme!" Naruto said as he dodged a leg sweep._

_"What Dobe?" He barely dodged Naruto's counter. He flipped back and stopped two feet away from him._

_"We fight better together, right?" Sasuke nodded. "So how about we team up?"_

_Sasuke drop from his stance, Naruto did the same. "What?"_

_"Yeah, You, me, Kakashi-sensei and any other person we can find that is willing to join us."_

_"And what exactly is our gang's goal?" _

_"It's not a gang, just a group of people."_

_"And what's the point?"_

_Naruto got serious. "To stop the Akatsuki!"_

_Sasuke also got serious. "What?"_

_"You've seen the news. They rape and murder people just because they can. It sickens me. Besides, they hurt one of my friends, now it's their turn."_

_"I see where you're heading with this, but how are we going to stop the Akatsuki? They're all adults and we're still kids."_

_Naruto smirked. "All we gotta do is get other strong adults to join us, like Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi suddenly appeared out of nowhere._

_"And why would I join you're group?"_

_"Because you don't want me to get hurt. And don't you want to stop those jerks? After all they've done?"_

_Kakashi thought for a minute. "I guess."_

_"Then it's settled." Naruto left the room to let them both think about it more. He went back into the room to say one last thing. "By the way, we need more members, and I need you two to look for people. Get to work!" He left Sasuke and Kakashi sighing and shaking their heads. Sasuke spoke up._

_"What are we gonna call ourselves?" Naruto stopped in his tracks. He forgot about the name._

_"Uhm… what about… Kyuubi?"_

_Kakashi spoke up next. "Kyuubi? As in the tailed beast Kyuubi?"_

_"Yeah, he was the most powerful of the tailed beast and what better name than that?"_

_Kakashi and Sasuke shrug. "Yeah, I guess."_

_[End of Flash Back]_

"After that, we got Shikamaru, Tenten and Kiba to join. About four months later, we went to Suna to stop Akatsuki's plan to sell some drugs. We met Gaara, a guy our age who said he felt alive by killing others. Since everyone was out stopping Akatsuki, I was the only who was left to fight him. I knocked some sense into him. A week before we left, he came up to me and thanked me for everything. I offered him to join Kyuubi and he accepted. Same thing happen in Mist. Except Zabuza and Haku offered to join. As long as they fought for their precious person, I let them stay in Kyuubi." Hinata couldn't believe what Naruto just told her.

"That still doesn't explain why you're their leader? Why not Kakashi?"

"He said he didn't want to and everyone unanimously voted me as leader as long as Shikamaru checked and approved of the actions I took."

"So are you still the leader of Kyuubi?"

"I wasn't until today. Gaara and Zabuza have been attacked by the Akatsuki and they've had enough. They said they'd like me to be in charge again."

Hinata gave Naruto a sincere look. "Please don't Naruto."

"What?"

"Don't do it. I don't want to lose you." She started crying on his shoulder. "Please…"

"I already told you Hinata-chan, I won't leave you, ever. But I have to do this."

"Just don't die… promise?"

"Promise!" He sealed it with a kiss. Then someone tapped their shoulder.

"Yo Dobe! Come on, we need to meet up with Neji and Tenten. Something just came up." Sasuke said.

"You mean about Akatsuki and how we need to reform Kyuubi." Sasuke looked surprise. Almost as if reading his mind, Naruto continued. "Don't worry, She knows and I'm sure Sakura forced you to tell her, am I right?" Sasuke blushed a little and Naruto laughed. "I knew it. Come on, let's go find Neji."

_

* * *

_

**I'm getting tired of rereading this myself. If there are any beta readers or whatever you call those people that help you check the story, can you help me? please? i suck at literature, i got an 80-something in that class. PLEASE?**

**Oh yeah, don't forget to review. Until next time. _Chapter 5: Damn It!_...**


	5. Always and forever!

**YO! I know it's been a while since my last update, well, I lost my internet for a while and I didn't finish this chapter until the last minute. Again, I'm sorry if it's too OOC for your likings but I tried and that's all that counts. By the way, this chapter is also pretty fluffy. The next one will have more action. Well, I try to make it have more action. Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto. Got it? GOOD!**

**_Chapter 5: Always and Forever!_**

"I see. Very well, see you then." Gaara hung up the phone. He thought for a moment and decided to bring his siblings with them. He goes into Temari's room first. "Yo," Temari looked up to see her younger brother. Her blonde hair was pulled up in four pony tails. She wore a purple shirt and black jeans.

"What?" She said while putting down her phone.

"Pack up, we're headed for Konoha for a little reunion." He was about to leave when he saw that his sister had a small grin on her face and could've sworn she giggled. He knew what she was thinking and wanted to mess with her. "Don't use this as an excuse to see Shikamaru, we're not going on vacation. He's not our reason for going," He said with a small smirk on his face when he saw her grin disappear and replaced with a pout. When Temari was sure he left, she spoke again.

"Hn, we'll see about that." She then heard Gaara say "pack up, we're going to Konoha." to Kankuro , which he gave Gaara a "Hell No!". A minute later, she heard glass breaking while Kankuro screaming "Ok, Ok, I'm packing." Repeatedly. Temari's smile returned while she got up to pack.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"So he agreed, huh? Zabuza said as he finished reading the text message from Naruto. "Finally, I'm getting tired of those fools trying to assassinate me."

"Me too." Haku stepped into the room with a bloody white shirt, bloody grey sweatpants and dirt and blood staind nikes. He had long brown hair, and looked like a girl, or so people stupid enough to tell it to his face say."Idiots, they shouldn't underestimate us by sending these weaklings to do their dirty work." He said as he dragged two unconscious bodies deeper into the hideout.

"Heh, what happened this time?"

"these idiots tried to drug the tea I was drinking. I caught them before they actually put it in. I knocked them out and stole every valuable and useful thing they had." Haku finished as he let them fall to the floor with a dull _Thump_ echoing through the vacant hideout. He walked up to Zabuza and looked at his phone. "Ha, finally. I was starting to get bored."

"We leavein a day Haku, so start packing." Zabuza commanded. Haku nodded and turned to leave.

"Yes Zabuza. But if I may, I'd like to get some rest first." Zabuza nodded and Haku walked to his room.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"There, it's done." Naruto put up his phone after calling and texting the other members of Kyuubi. He sighed and looked at his friends. "Now all we have to do is wait for them to come. Some of them like Zabuza, Haku and Kakashi will come probably by tomorrow. Others, like Gaara, his siblings and Akio and his girlfriend Hoshiko, will be here in four days; give or take. So…"

"Who are Akio and Hoshiko?" Asked Neji. Naruto's vein became visible on his head, he never liked being interrupted. He took a deep breath and relaxed.

"Their one of the first members of Kyuubi to enter the Underground unit. They entered Konoha from a place far from here. I think they said the village in the plains or something like that. Anyways, when they first joined, me and Sasuke didn't think much of them. That all changed after we tested them to see how strong they were. They were very strong, almost be me and Sasuke, _almost!_ I didn't want them to be discovered by Akatsuki, so I made the Underground unit to keep the Akatsuki from putting them in their data base. I always knew that they would one day plan on attacking us. So I made it to give us the element of Surprise." Narurto explained.

"So who else is in the Underground unit?" asked Hinata. "I mean, it couldn't only be them could it?"

Naruto smiled and hugged Hinata. "As smart as always. Yes, we do have more members assigned to be in the Underground unit. Though not many, they still shouldn't be underestimated. I can't say much besides that Akio and Hishiko are two of its members." Neji looked like he was going to ask another question but Naruto beat him to it."No more questions, I already told you that that's all I was going to say. I already said too much. So, back to what I was going to say… We have two options at the moment. One: we could go home or two: finish this date. So what'll it be?"

Everyone thought for a moment before Hinata spoke up. "I don't really care, as long as you're with me, I'm up for anything." She hugged naruto tighter and he kissed her in the forehead and smiled.

"I don't really care either." Said Neji. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Ok, ok. How about we ride one more ride, then we'll go to Sasuke's house to watch a movie until we're tired. How's that?" Again, everyone thought about it and agreed. All except one.

"Why my house dobe?

"Because…"

"Because?"

"… beecause I'm the leader and I said so, there." Everyone sweatdropped. Sasuke gave up realizing that there was no point in arguing with him.

"Whatever."

"Come on Hinata-chan, let's go ride that one." When Hinata looked at what Naruto was pointing at, her face turned sixteen different shades of red, each darker than the one before it. Neji's vein popped out and looked like it would come alive and choke the life out of Naruto.

"Naruto, you better…" He couldn't finish because he was being dragged by Tenten to the same ride. "Tenten, w-what are you doing?" She didn't answer, she just kept dragging. Sakura looked up at Sasuke with pleading eyes. Sasuke looked in to her eyes and sighed. He held his arm out to let Sakura drag him. In seconds, sasuke could feel the friction between his shoes and the ground increase with every passing second.

"Why are you still blushing Hinata-chan?"

"W-Well, I've n-vever b-been on this ride. E-Especially with a b-boy." Naruto was about to respond to her statement when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned around to see who it was and sighed.

"You better keep your hands to yourself or else. You got that Uzumaki?"

Naruto raised his arm up to a salute position. "Sir yes, sir." Hinata laughed and Naruto had that same grin he always wears when he's not taking the situation seriously. Neji couldn't make a response to Naruto's sarcasm because Tenten bopped him on the head. Naruto chuckled and tunred his attention back to Hinata. She smiled uyp at him and said, "don't worry Naruto, I'll make sure he won't do anything to you." She then proceeded to hug him and nuzzled her head on his chest. He smiled and played with her hair for a little while. He looked up at the ride and got a better look at the ride. It was pretty big but still small compared to the ferris wheel or the other larger rollercoasters. It was colored in different shades of red and pink and also had many different shaped hearts with the words 'Tunnel of Love' labeled in the front of it. Then he focused on the sky. The moon shining brightly down on them while the stars illuminated the darker regions of the sky. He started rethinking the whole Kyuubi reunion. _'Yeah I might finally be able to stop those damned Akatsuki once and for all.'_ He looked down at Hinata's beaming face. _'But how will I know that she'll be safe while I deal with them? Can I really protect her and stop the Akatsuki at the same time?'_ Hinata saw the look on his face.

"Naruto, it'll be ok. I'm sure you'll be able to deal with the Akatsuki." Naruto started at her words and smiled.

"I'm sure I can, too. I can't afford not to." Hinata gave him a curious look and titled her head. Naruto, wanting to change the subject, laughed. "you look cute when you make that face." Hinata blushed and smiled. Miguel, unable to take it anymore, leaned in and kissed her deeply. Neji looked like he was ready to explode. The only thing keeping him from slaughtering Naruto was Tenten, who was holding hi back with all her strength. Sasuke, seeing the murder in Neji's eyes, decided to help his friend out.

"Yo, dobe, you're next in line." Naruto and Hinata released each other and blushed. They got on the boat and left the others behind. When Naruto tunred around, he saw Neji drag his thumb across his neck, Tenten slapping him in the back of the head, and Sasuke and Sakura laughin at him. Naruto chuckled and gave 100 percent of his attention to Hinata, who seemed to appriciate the his atttention.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"You idiot! You know very well that Hinata hates scary movies!"

"It's ok Neji," Hinata said trying to calm down her cousin. "Really, I don't mind." She continued with sadness evident in her voice. This didn't go unnoticed by Naruto.

"No Hinata-chan, he's right. I should've been more considerate." Naruto said trying to sound as serious as he could.

"Yeah, you should've been." That earned Neji a slap to his head by Tenten. "Damn it Tenten, all day you've been hiting me in the same spot."

"Well, you deserved it." Naruto tried not to laugh at this because if he did, he knew she would hit him, too. And you wouldn't want to be hit by her.

"Here's what we'll do. Hinata-chan and I will go get another movie for us to watch. In the meantime, you guys play the movie and make the popcorn and enjoy the movie." Everyone nodded. "Good. Come on Hinata-chan." It took Neji a minute to realize what he agreed to. He ran to the door and opened it to see Naruto and Hinata already driving out of the neighborhood.

"Hey, why can't you get it yourself?" he yelled. He sighed and went back inside since it was too late to stop them. When he entered, he saw both Sasuke and Sakura cuddled together and sitting on the floor near the couch. While Tenten was eating popcorn and sitting on the couch. She looked at Neji, smiled, and patted the empty sapce near her so to tell him to sit next to her. Neji couldn't help the smile suddenly coming to his face as he sat next to his girlfriend.  
During the whole movie Sakura squeezed Sasuke's hand eleven times, screamed six times, Tenten and Neji were both tempted to leave out of annoyance eight times, Sasuke fell alseep two times, and not once did Naruto and Hinata return.**(Beware. Math's everywhere hahaha…)** Even though Neji was angry at the fact that Naruto and Hinata haven't returned yet, there were moments when Tenten 'distracted' him of such things. When the movie finished, everyone yawned. Everyone except Neji who was trying to fight back a yawn.

"Ok, here's the deal, there are three bedrooms in this house. The one on the far end of the corrider is mine's. The one's on the left and right are the guest rooms. Since Sakura is already asleep, she'll sleep in one of the guest rooms. You two can either go home, or decide which one of you will sleep In the other room and the other on the couch. Let me know which one you choose." Neji looked at Tenten and vise-versa.

"So do you want me to sleep here or do you want me to drop you off at your house with Sasuke car?" Tenten thought about it for a while before answering.

"Might as well stay here." Neji nodded.

"Ok, you take the guest room and I'll take the couch." Neji said. Sasuke nodded and told Neji where he could find extra sheets and pillows. Sasuke, already carrying Sakura bridal-style, left to put her in the bed room on the right of the corrider. Neji just realized something as Sasuke returned into the living room. "Wait, there are three bed rooms in here; since you're using one, Tenten's using one, and Sakura is too, then where will Hinata and Naruto sleep?" Sasuke and Tenten looked at each other before looking back at Neji. Seconds later, both we're laughing on the floor, holding their sides. "What'so funny?" When Sasuke calmed down enoughm he stood up.

"You're an idiot if you actually believed Naruto forgot that Hinata didn't like scary movies. You're an even bigger idiot for believeing that Naruto was bring Hinata back."

"Even I knew that." Tenten said after she too calmed down. Neji just blushed from embarrassment. He was about to say something, but surprie surprise, Tenten said something first. "Well I'm tired. Good night Sasuke, goodnight Neji." She gave him a kiss and went to her room for the night. Sasuke sat next ot Neji and started a different conversation. One that Neji wasn't eexpecting.

"So you're taking the whole gang thing well, or is it just a façade?" Neji looked at him and then to the ground. He shrugged his shoulders before he began.

"I guess. You, I could care less since you're not my responsibility. Tenten… well, I wish she wasn't but not much I could do about it now. All I can do is hope she's not seriously hurt out there." He paused to catch his breath. Sasuke ignored his first comment since it was true, the second one he understood, but it was his next comment was the one that really surprised him. "But Naruto… he's the one that worries me the most. Not only for myself, but I also worry for Hinata. Think how devasted she'd be if one day she would receive the news of Naruto dying in a gang related incident. I pray that doesn't happen to him, to either one of you three, but if it does, its after effects would be hectic." He looked at Sasuke again. "Why Naruto? Why did you choose him as you're leader? Didn't you say that there were adults in the group? So why him?" Sasuke took a deep breath and sighed.

"Neji, do you know what every knight has but only the king knows how to use?" Neji shook his head. "Instinct. Everyone has it; you, me, Tenten, Hinata, Sakura, everyone."

"So what's your point?" Neji interruptted.

"He's saying that everyone of us have instinct but only Naruto knows how to use his." Neji and Sasuke look in the direction of the voice. Tenten stood outside of her door. She walked closer until she was sitting down next to Neji.

"She's right. He uses his instinct while we use our minds. While with our minds we try to choose the smartest choice, Naruto uses his instinct to choose the smartest yet best choice." Sasuke continued explaining.

"How?" Neji asked.

"We don't know. But since he uses his instincts, he was good enough to be our leader with the help and training from the older, more experienced members. Even though he was still young back then, he still made Kyuubi a successful and effective 'gang' as some people call it, when really we just tried to take down Akatsuki. We did foil most of the Akatsuki's nefarious plots and drug deals. Though it was really Naruto who took down Orochimaru, we helped a little." Neji's eyes widened. He had heard of Orochimaru and what wrongs he's caused and even heard that it was Kyuubi that killed him, but he never would've thought that it was Naruto who killed him. "We did a lot of things that helped many people, but the police didn't like the way we helped. So we decided to split so no one goes to jail." Tenten nodded as Sasuke got off the couch and headed for his room for sleep. "Night, you two."

"That must have been a lot to take in for a day. You ok?" Neji nodded.

"Yeah, I just need some sleep. Goodnight." She said her goddnight kiss to him again and went into her room. About an hour later, Neji woke up to someone nudging him. He turned to see who it was and saw a smiling Tenten.

"Hi." Was all she said.

"Hey… What's up?" She blushed before she started.

"Well, I can't sleep. I was kinda wondering that…" She took a deep breath before deciding to go on. "That maybe you'd sleep with me. I mean, like near me." This time Neji blushed and Tenten's got darker. "Nevermind. I'm sorry I embarrassed you, goodnight." She quickly went back to her room and laid down on the bed. As hard as she tried, only one tear slid down her cheek. She could've sworn that she heard the door opened and closed, but she didn't care. "I can't believe I actually asked him that. He probably thinks I'm weird or worse." As she finished saying that, she felt a familiar pair of arms wrapping around her and a head nuzzling her back. She turned to see that it was Neji.

"Hey." He said as he wiped the lone tear from her cheek. She gave him a small smile.

"Hey." She said weakly. She cuddled closer to him and he kept his arms protectively over her. Or possessively, however you want to see it.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"So what movie are we going to get?" This earned a laugh from Naruto. Hinata just sat there confused as he continued to drive. "What's so funny?"

"I thought only Neji was going to believe me. I didn't really forget that you disliked seeing scary movies. I did that so you and I could spend more alone time together." She smiled at him and leaned on his shoulder. Then she thought of something, well two. One of the things upset her a bit so she decided to ignore it and ask the about second thing. "So where are we going then?"

"Some place special." She was going to ask to be more specific but she knew he wasn't going to more about it so she left it at that. They remained silent the whole drive until they stopped at a parking lot. Hinata looked around and saw that they were in the same park where they first met. She grew sad. _'I can't believe he forgot. Not once did he mention what today is, how special it is.'_ She was brought out of her thoughts when Naruto opened her door and held out a hand to help her out of the car. She smiled a sad smile and took his hand and kissed his cheek. After he made sure he locked his car, they started walking throught the park. Hinata kept on having the same thought she had in the car. She decided to see if Naruto really did forget what today was.

"Naruto, do you know what today is?" Naruto looked at her. He saw that she had a worried look on his face. Deciding to play a little, he went into a thinking pose.

"Hmm… Well. I know today is Saturday, as for the date and month, I have no clue." He smiled sheepishly and she felt tears growing in her eyes but fought them back. _'I knew it, he did forget.'_ Hinata thought. _'I knew it, she thought I forgot. Good.'_ Naruto thought as they continued their walk through the park. They walked and walked until they both saw a lake.

"I didn't know there was a lake in this park." She said as she admired the beauty of the lake. "It's beautiful."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, maybe, but I've seen better." She looked up at him curiously.

"What could be more beautiful than this?" Naruto expected this and smiled as he brought his lips closer to her ears.

"My angel from above." She blushed and left her mouth hanging slightly. He took this opportunity to kiss her. His tongue massaged hers while she was still unresponsive. When she got herself back together, she kissed him back. Now both tongues were fighting for dominance. Hinata moaned with delight as Naruto smiled and enjoyed her taste.. When they parted he took both her hands and looked at her in the eyes. Usually, she would've thought that what Naruto had said to her was corny. But coming from him, it meant the world to her. She was close to tears by now.

"Come on now. You're too beautiful to cry. God didn't create you to cry or be sad, but to be happy, to smile, to laugh and to be loved." He kissed each hand as he said this. Again, sounding pretty corny, but those words still meant the world to her. "So how about we go to where I really wanted to take you?" She nodded. He stood up and took off his shirt and pants. She blushed furiously and looked away while thinking _'I didn't see anything. Not his abs, muscular back or firm butt.'_

"W-What a-are you d-doing?" She asked, afraid of his answer. He smiled at her.

"Going to take you where I told I was going to take you."

"So why are you taking off your clothes?"

"Because I don't want to get them wet. You should take yours off, too." Her blush darkened at his words. She looked down at her clothes and back at him and gave him a look that said he was crazy. "Oh, ha-ha, here." He tossed her his black t-shirt and black basketball shorts. "I brought some extra clothes for such an occasion. Though you might be better off with them on." He laughed sheepishly again while he rubbed the back of his head.

"Thanks." She walked to the back of the closest tree "Turn around please." She he couldn't see her while there was a tree blocking his view, but she still felt nervous."

"Sure," He turned around, now facing the lake. "But if I ear something suspicious, I'm running in after you, you got that?" She agreed and started changing. When she was done, she stepped from behind the tree and saw that he was still starring at the lake. She snuck up behind him and put both hands in his eyes.

"Guess who?" he beamed and grabbed both of her hands, but didn't pull them away.

"What do I get if I can guess right?" She giggled.

"A kiss."

"I could really go for a kiss, Hinata-chan." He said while he pulled away her hands and held them in his as he spun to look at her. When he saw her, he was awe-struck. She looked like a goddess to him. Her fair skin faintly glowing from the moon's light and her beautiful, silk-like hair shining as well. The clothes she wore were pretty big and Naruto found this very adorable. "Wow." That was all he could find to say about Hinata. He was speechless. He shook it off and started moving closer to the edge of the lake, taking Hinata with him. "Follow me." He jumped into the lake… still holding on to Hinata's hands.

"Wait Naru…" The splash kept her from talking after that. When they resurfaced, the first thing Naruto did was kiss her. She decided not to question him about this since she figured he probably wouldn't tell her. He then started swimming closer to the deeper end of the lake, Hinata following closely behind. When they were some where near the middle, they then swam east. They stopped when they reached the other edge and a huge hill stood tall over them. "Naruto, what now?" He didn't say anything, just pointed down and went under water. When she did the same, she opened her eyes to see what he was talking about. She saw Naruto swimming into something that looked like an underwater cave. Not wanting to be left behind, she followed him again. After it seemed like she was in a never ending cave, Hinata needed air so she started swimming fast and soon saw light about 5 feet ahead of her. When she went up, she took many deep breaths. Then she looked up and saw Naruto's hand out. She took his hand and he helped her get out of the water. Now that she had a better view point, she looked around. She was completely surrounded by trees and saw the huge hill behind her. In back of Naruto, she saw a blanket and a picnic basket/cooler on top of the blanket. "You planned this?"

He nodded. "Yup. I know you think I forgot what today was but I didn't." She walked up to him and hugged him and cried a little. _'He remembered!'_

"I'm sorry I doubted you Naruto, but you didn't show any signs that you remembered."

"That was the point. I wanted to throw you off. I heard how depressed you sounded earlier and I'm pretty sure that it wasn't because I chose a scary movie." She hugged him tighter and let her tears fall.

"Thank you so much Naruto. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"No other day means more to me than the day I met you, besides the day you became mine and I became yours.

"Don't forget today's also the day you saved me." He tightened his grip on Hinata as he spoke.

"I will always protect you Hinata, even as I breathe my last breath. Now come on, let's see what I packed for us to eat." He gently guided her to the basket/cooler. "You're not really hungry are you?" She shook her head.

"Not really." He playfully sighed and took out a bowl.

"Oh woe is me. Now what will I do with this bowl of cinnamon rolls." Before he knew it, he was tackled to the ground by Hinata. "Whoa there Hinata-chan, don't want me to drop all of the cinnamon rolls, do you?" She got off of him and waited for him to get up. When he did, he gave her the bowl and she started eating it. He reached into the cooler for his instant ramen that was inside a thermes-thing** (whatever you call those things you put hot food in to keep them hot.)**. He then took out two cans of coke. "One for you," he handed her one. "And one for me." They both ate in silience until they finished. When they did, Naruto laid down and Hinata laid on to him, using his chest as a pillow. They both looked up at the stars. Hinata started shivering since she still didn't change out of her wet clothes. And out of no where, as if by magic, Naruto pulled out a second blanket and put it over both of them. _'I'm really lucky to have someone like himin my life. I don't know where I'd be if I didn't have him to spend life with.'_ Meanwhile, Naruto was having the same thought about Hinata.

"This is really nice, just you and me. No teme, Sakura, Neji or Tenten to disturb us."

"It is nice to get away from it all with you Naruto." Hinata agreed. He let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah. I love you Hinata-chan."

"I love you, too Naruto." Naruto then wrapped his arms around her to bring them closer and hugged her tightly like she could disappear and be gone from his life forever.

"You know, no one knows about this place. I found it by accident one day." He chuckled at the memory. "To be more specific, the day I saved you from those two punks." She looked up at him worriedly.

"Really? Weren't those two boys chasing you after they told their father?" He nodded.

"Yeah, they chased me until I was only left with the option of jumping in the water. When I looked up I saw that they were waiting for me to return to the surface. Then I looked down and saw that opening and thought it was better than facing those three. I swam and swam until I need air and saw the other opening going up. I went through it and found this place. I never told anyone about this place. Not even Sasuke, he'd probably just tell me I wasted his time showing him a useless clearing. You're the only one that I told about this place." Hinata smiled that smile that got Naruto to love her.

"I fell special." She joked and he laughed. Minutes later, they continued watching the stars in silence. Both enjoyed each other's company, letting the peaceful sounds of nature fill the night. Naruto decided to break the silence since he felt like he needed to say something.

"I think Neji's going to kill me for having you out this late, huh Hinata-chan?" He didn't hear her answer. "What do you think, Hinata-chan?" Still no answer. He looked down and saw that she was sleeping. He grinned at her as he admired her beauty. Even while she slept, she still had that cute smile on her face. "I'll always protect you Hinata-chan. Always and Forever." He kissed her in the forehead, and almost as if she heard him, she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. He looked up at the sky and knew it couldn't get any better than this. He yawned and then fell asleep with a smile identical to Hinata's. Hinata and Naruto both dreamed about each other, both had a firm grip on the other, both happy as can be… for now.

**Haha I have returned! With a vengeance… Please review and le me know what you think. I'd really appreciate it and the helping me out by giving me ideas is still open, sort of. I'd really like for you all to get involved in this too. I may not use some of your ideas but it'd still be cool if you'd send me some ideas… REVIEW PLZ!**


	6. The Fight Begins!

**Yo! It's been a while hasn't it? Sorry about that, but I got too many things going on right now… **

**Anyways, here's the action I promised, not much of one, but still action… And a bit of drama… Oh and I made a new story called ****Naruto: The tale of His Life****…  
It's just about how he'd be if he wasn't as confident, brave or cheery as he is in the anime/manga… Do me a favor and at least read it…**

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Naruto!**

* * *

Naruto woke up from a sudden movement he felt. Something landed on his face and was irritating the hell out of him. When he opened his eyes, he saw that it was a leaf that landed on his face. At first he tried to blow it off, but it wouldn't budge. He tried shaking his head, but it still wouldn't get off him. Finally deciding to put more effort into removing the leaf, he tried lifting his right arm. But there was something on his arm that didn't let him move it. When he looked down, what he saw made him smile.

Hinata had her head resting on his chest, using it like a pillow while her right arm was over his stomach. Her right leg was also intertwined with his right leg. What caught his attention was not the fact that Hinata had a smile on her face as she slept, but where his hand was currently at. The first thing that happened was that his whole body tensed up. Then, blood started to come out of his nose. He remained still as he tried to compose himself because sometime during the night, he moved his hand and placed it on his girlfriend's butt. Naruto was groping Hinata and she still had that smile on her face.

'_When did this happened?' _Naruto sighed. _'At least Neji's not here to see this. He'd freak out on me if he saw me like this.' _Naruto moved his hand and so that Hinata wouldn't wake up feeling his hand on her butt. But as soon as he did, Hinata's smile suddenly disappeared. This didn't go unnoticed by Naruto. He raised an eye-brow and smirked.

"Interesting…" He said quietly. Wanting to see why Hinata's smile disappeared, he moved his hand back on her butt. As soon as he did, her smile reappeared. Naruto's smile widened at the sudden realization. _'Hinata's secretly a pervert. Who would've thought?'_ Then Naruto yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his free hand.

This caused Hinata to wake up and yawn as well. She looked up at Naruto when she finished and said,

"Good morning Naruto. Sleep well?" Naruto blushed a little, seeing as his hand remained where it was before, and nodded. Hinata noticed his blush and wondered why. She titled her head and he could see confusion on her face. Naruto smiled at a sudden idea he had.

"You're really cute in the morning you know that?" Naruto didn't wait for her to respond because after he said that he kissed her. This sudden action seemed to surprise her, giving Naruto the perfect opportunity to move his hand without Hinata noticing. After he did, he broke the kiss and looked up at the sky, relieved he was able to get away with it. Hinata blushed as she let her head rest on Naruto's chest again. They lay there, enjoying each others company for who knows how long before Naruto sat up, bring Hinata up with him. "As much as I would love to lay here with you, Hinata, I think we should go back to Sasuke's house. Neji's probably worried sick about you and would probably want to kill me by now." Hinata giggled and nodded. They stood up and walked back to the only exit. They were about to jump in but Hinata tripped Naruto before he could jump and fell face-first into the water. Hinata just laughed and laughed until she fell on the ground, still laughing.

When he resurfaced, Hinata calmed down enough and spoke.

"I'm not an idiot you know." Naruto looked at her, confused by her words. "I know you had your hand on my butt and that the kiss was just a distraction."

"Heh-heh… guess you got me. But you should know I didn't purposely put it there." Naruto was getting out the water but was pushed back in by Hinata's foot. Then she jumped in, right next to him. "So, are we going back or not?" Hinata thought about it for awhile.

"Not…" She inhaled some air and went underwater. Naruto did the same and followed her.

[*.*.*.*]

"We're ready to leave. Everything is packed and all we need is your orders, Pein-sama." Itachi bowed his head and awaited his orders. On the inside, Itachi was cussing; every cuss word known to man was being said in his mind.

"Good work, Itachi. You've been very loyal to the Akatsuki and I appreciate it, but…" Itachi raised his head to see Pein but was suddenly shot. He fell back and lay motionless on the floor. Pein's gun still had the smoke coming out as he walked up to Itachi and crouched down. "I know you betrayed us. I know you've been helping Naruto and Sasuke escape our grasp. So now Itachi, now you die… Kisame!" Kisame walked in, holding his huge sword.

"Yes, Pein-sama?" Pein Picked up Iatchi's bloodied body and threw him to the far corner. Kisame raised his eye-brow.

"Get rid of this traitor. I have no use for him." Pein walked out and Kisame bowed his head. He then retrieved Itachi and dragged him to a barren part of the hide-out.

[*.*.*.*]

Naruto and Hinata tried to sneak into Sasuke's house without waking up anyone, unfortunately, they weren't there. Instead, Naruto saw something that scared him. It wasn't so much as a something as a someone.

"Eh? So, you finally decided to show up?" Hidan said with a demented smile plastered on his face. "Yo, Kakuzu, get your lazy self in here." Kakuzu came out of the kitchen holding a huge butcher knife. Even though his mouth was covered by the mask, Naruto could still tell he was smiling just as sadistically as Hidan.

"So I see you've come to us. Are you here to surrender?" Naruto growled at them as he motioned for Hinata to go outside.

"What are you jerks doing here?" Hidan chuckled at Naruto's weak insult.

"We came here to look for you and Sasuke and eliminate you guys. We happened to just arrive, and it looked like we were at the wrong house… That is until you came by." Naruto flinched and looked back at Hinata. Kakuzu noticed this and laughed.

"So I see you found a girl Uzumaki. She's really cute, perfect for Pein-sama." Naruto looked back at Kakuzu with as much hatred as he had.

"No… One… Is… Touching… My… HINATA!" Naruto yelled and ran at Hidan, who brought his long scythe-like blade out and blocked the punch Naruto threw, aimed for his gut. Naruto then spun on his heel and swept Hidan's legs under him, causing him to fall. Naruto grabbed Hidan's scythe and swung it down at his neck. Unable to move, Hidan closed his eyes and expected the worst. Lucky for him, Naruto made sure that the blades did not hit him, just trap him. Hidan's neck was in between the space of the blades that were imbedded on the floor.

Seeing as Hidan was not a threat anymore, Naruto turned to Kakuzu who was standing still, the butcher still in his hand. Swiftly, Kakuzu sprung into action and dived for Naruto, randomly swinging the knife. Naruto tried desperately to dodge each swing but was not fast enough to dodge all swings. He got a cut on his left cheek, one on his chest, two near his left wrist and a couple on his leg. Naruto was getting desperate, grabbing the nearest object to deflect the oncoming attacks. In an instant, Naruto got an idea. Naruto moved back until his back touched a wall.

Kakuzu thought he was trapped so he swung as hard as he could, hoping to end it right there and then. But Naruto dodged it and the knife hit the wall, getting it stuck on the wall. As quickly as it happened, Naruto saw an opening and hit Kakuzu in the chin with an uppercut. After that, Naruto kicked him in the gut, sending him flying back into a table. The table broke from the sudden contact and Kakuzu was trying to get up. When he did get up, he had to use one of the broken legs from the table to stand. He then tried to run to Naruto but Naruto was faster and threw a punch at Kakuzu's face, knocking him out. Hidan was speechless through out the whole fight. Then he got angry when both he and Kakuzu lost to Naruto.

"So what are you going to do now you piece of…" He didn't get to finish because Naruto slammed the door as he left. "Hey! Don't leave you bastards!"

Hinata helped Naruto walk to his car seeing as he could barely walk. She was surprised at how well he fought against two people who each had a weapon. She was speechless until they reached his car.

"Are you ok Naruto?" He nodded and said nothing else. Hinata took this as a bad sign. He was about to sit in the driver's seat but she stopped him. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to drive. Even though none of your injuries are fatal, they could still affect you're driving." Naruto nodded once again and walked over to the passenger's seat. Hinata got in and drove to her house. During the whole ride, Naruto's expression stayed solemn and thoughtful. When they reached Hinata's house, she got out and helped Naruto out. She also helped him walk to her front dorr but made no move to open it.

"Aren't we going inside?" Hinata was looking at the ground, also looking thoughtful.

"What's wrong Naruto? What is it that's bothering you?" Naruto tensed under her hold, his vision focusing on the ground and moved away, taking two steps away from her. "Naruto?" Hinata was really worried now.

"I'm sorry Hinata… I-I… I can't…" Naruto didn't finish, he couldn't think of the words to say.

"You can't what Naruto?" Hinata took a step forward, causing Naruto to take a step backwards. His vision never leaving the ground, answered her.

"I… I can't be with you Hinata, I'm so sorry…" Hinata gasped and Naruto turned his back on her and walked to his car. Hinata stood still, too surprised to move and that was enough time for Naruto to go to his car and drive away. Tears appeared in Hinata's eyes and raced down her cheeks. Sometime after that, she broke down and cried her eyes out as she laid on her front step. She fell asleep soon after.

[*.*.*.*]

Naruto sat passively on the roof of his home. He had to do it. He knew he had to break up with Hinata. It was the only way to keep her safe. If any other member of Akatsuki knew of her, they would surely go after her. Naruto let silent tears flow out of his eyes. He knew he had to do it, he just didn't expect it to be so hard.

A sudden noise caught his attention and he looked at the source of the noise. Sasuke was coming up the stairs and looked around. He spotted his friend near the edge of the roof, were he always goes when he was sad. Sasuke got up from the stairs and walked to his friend. He sat down next to him and looked at te sky, saying nothing.

"What do you want Sasuke?"

"I was looking for you. You and Hinata never came back from where ever you went yesterday and I was worried." Naruto turned his head so he was looking at the sky, also.

"You know the Akatsuki were at your house right?" Sasuke chuckled.

"Yeah. We left as soon as we saw their car pull up on the drive way. We snuck out the back door and went to Shikamaru's house. So I'm guessing you ran into them?" Naruto nodded and had a somber look on his face. Sasuke looked through the corner of his eye and saw the look on his face. "Did something bad happen?" When Naruto didn't answer, he thought the worst. "What happened to Hinata?" Naruto remained silent and was thinking if he should tell Sasuke everything.

"Nothing, I just took out both members and then I dropped Hinata off at her house." Sasuke could tell he was leaving something out.

"That's all?"

"That's all." Naruto's eyes sparkled as he said this. Sasuke knew that meant he was lying.

"Don't lie Naruto. I'm sure that's not all that happened." Naruto abruptly stood up and started walking away.

"It's nothing. Nothing you should worry about." Naruto was about to go down the stairs but he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He turned to see Sasuke glaring at him.

"Naruto, you understand that you're like a brother to me right?" He nodded. "And I you?" Naruto nodded again, knowing where this was going. "So what is it you're not telling me?"

Naruto sighed and sat on the floor. Sasuke sat next to him, waiting for his brother to tell him what happened. Naruto took his time composing his thoughts.

"Well, Hinata and I were sneaking back into your house and tried not to wake anyone up, but Hidan and Kakuzu were inside. Apparently, they were looking for us and found out where you live. It was too late to sneak out and then Hidan called out Kakuzu. When he came out, he looked at Hinata and said something that made my blood boil." He paused to take a breath.

"And what did he say?" Sasuke noticed that Naruto had his hands rolled up into a fist and his knuckles were really white. _'It must've been really bad if he's this pissed.'_

"He said… He said that Hinata would be perfect for Pein…" Sasuke was surprised at his words. Then he got angry as well. He knew if he was in Naruto's position, he'd kill Kakuzu. "But… that's not what's bothering my mind."

Sasuke let Naruto take as much time as he wanted. Not because he wanted to be nice, but because he knew he wouldn't be able to force it out of his mouth.

"I… I think I did something stupid."

"Come on dobe, it's probably not that bad." Naruto shook his head.

"It is. I… well, broke up with Hinata." Sasuke stood up immediately and looked incredulously at Naruto.

"What?"

"I had to do it Sasuke. If she'd stay with me, she would always have to watch her back. Until we get rid of Akatsuki for good, I won't be able to be with her. She's too important to me for me to lose." Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the collar and punched him in the face. Naruto recoiled from the punch but didn't respond right away.

"You idiot, of course she'd be in harm's way. It makes no difference to Akatsuki who it is, if they're close to you, they'd threatened that person." Naruto didn't have the courage to look at Sasuke in the eyes. He was too ashamed.

"I didn't expect you to understand Sasuke…"

"And why not? I'm in the same position you're in. I already know Sakura's in danger every time she steps out of her house but I still love her. And because I love her, I know I have to consider her feelings. I thought of breaking it off with her weeks ago just so she would be safe but when I thought about it, she's in no less danger even if she's not with me. Instead of making worse by leaving her, I stayed with her, to make sure she wouldn't get hurt, physically and emotionally. You're right, what you did was stupid, now all you got to do is make up for it." Sasuke said until he was red in the face. Naruto still remained passive.

"But… I don't think she'll go back with me. She probably hates me now."

"You never know until you go find out." Sasuke let go of Naruto's collar and let him stand. Naruto smiled at his brother and they both shook hands.

"Thanks, I really need that. I think I'll be ok as long as I have Hinata-chan by my side. I just hope she can forgive me." Both Naruto and Sasuke headed down the stairs and went into his apartment room. Sasuke stopped him before he entered.

"Whoa, wait. Aren't you gonna go see Hinata now?" Naruto shook his head.

"Not right now, it wasn't that long ago I broke up with her. I'll wait till the sun goes down to go see her." Naruto's phone went off, distracting both boys from their conversation.

[*.*.*.*]

Hinata woke up because she felt someone poking her. She opened her heavy eye lids and looked at the person who disturbed her sleep. Neji was looking at Hinata, concern evident in his face.

"Why are you sleeping out here Hinata? And where's Naruto?" At hearing Naruto's name, Hinata burst out crying again. "W-Why are you crying?" Hinata was still not able to speak. Her broken heart hurt worse than any other injury she's ever had. Still, she was able to find her voice.

"H-He… He l-left…" Neji was a little confused by this.

'_He left? But to where?' _Hinata shook her head as to tell him that she wasn't finished.

"He left m-me…" Neji was shocked. His brain didn't register it for a minute, and then he got angry and lifted Hinata off the ground.

"Well that's his loss. He really is an idiot for leaving you Hinata."

"I just don't understand. It makes no sense." Hinata was trying to figure out why it was they broke up. It just didn't add up in her mind. Hinata didn't even notice where Neji was taking her until he laid her on her bed.

"It's ok Hinata, just rest up for now. I need to call Tenten so I know what to do about the Akatsuki. I'll wake you when dinner is ready, ok?" Hinata nodded and went to some sleep. Neji left the room and walked to the kitchen. He was so angry at Naruto that he didn't see someone open the front door. He only realized that someone was in his house because the person ran at him and sent a savage punch right into his gut and then sending a roundhouse kick to his head, efficiently knocking him unconscious. But before he was completely unconscious, he was able to see his attacker. _'Who is he?'_

The red head tat brought Neji down smirk victoriously.

"Hn, how weak, and here I was hoping he'd actually put up a fight." Then a blond came into the house, clay moving around his hands.

"Very creative, Sasori."

"Shut up Deidara and go get the girl." Deidara scowled and went to get Hinata. When he reached her room, he opened the door and saw that she was not in her bed. He turned his back to the room to yell that she wasn't there but didn't get the chance as Hinata came out from behind the door and hit one of Deidara's pressure point on his right arm. Deidara was surprised by her sneak attack and moved out of her reach before she could do more damage.

"What are you doing here?" Hinata said, voice still trembling from earlier events. Deidara smiled as he tried to bring back all feeling in his arm.

"We're here to take you. We need you as bait for the idiotic leader you call Naruto. Now we can go calmly or we can knock you out and take you anyways. So, which will it be?" Hinata thought about this for a while.

Sasori was waiting impatiently for Deidara. _'It shouldn't take him this long to grab one girl.'_ He thought impatiently. Suddenly, Deidara was felling down the stairs that led to the bedrooms. Deidara was rubbing his head as he got up.

"Stupid girl. YOU WANT TO DO IT THE HARD WAY, FINE!" Deidara ran back up stairs, but then came back down but this time he had a vase come crashing down on his head. He started bleeding and it covered his left eye. He tried to wipe away the blood but it wouldn't get out of his eye. Hinata took this time to kick him in the head as she came down the stairs, as well. Deidara was sent rolling to the other side of the room. He wasn't unconscious but he lay motionless on the floor, groaning.

"So you got some fight in you, do you?" Hinata charged Sasori and tried to kick his head too but was blocked by his left arm. With the same arm, he grabbed hold of Hinata's leg and spun her around. When he let go, she fell harmlessly on the couch. She got up and held her ground. When neither seemed to make a move, she ran at him again. She tried to send an open palm to his chest but he pulled out a gun and pointed it at Neji's head. She stopped as soon as she realized what he was aiming at.

"I've had enough fun for one day. Come with us quietly and I won't kill him." Hinata dropped her stance and glared at Sasori. Deidara came up from behind and and held her arms at her sides. "Good. Now let's go before someone else shows up." Now Sasori was pointing the gun at Hinata's back as the walked out of the house.

Neji woke up and hour after the whole incident. He looked around the room and saw signs of a fight. Then the memories of his attacker came to mind.

"Hinata!" Neji ran to Hinata's room and saw that she was there. He looked through his whole house and still no signs of Hinata. Out of options he ran to the phone and called the first number he thought of. He was impatient and the ringing was not helping him. Suddenly, the person on the other end picked up.

"_Hello?"_

[*.*.*.*]

"_Naruto, get over here now, it's about Hinata!"_ Naruto heard Neji yell through the phone.

"So I'm guessing Hinata told you then?" Naruto said sheepishly.

"_Yes, and I really think you're stupid for doing so…" _Sasuke also heard Neji through the phone and smirked.

"He's not the only one that thinks so." Sasuke said more to himself, but Naruto had heard him and shoved him into his apartment.

"_But that's not what it's about."_

"So what is it about?" Neji let out an angry sigh. Sasuke put the phone on speaker so he could hear what's happening too.

"_If you'd let me finish talking I'd tell you. Brace yourself Naruto, but I think she was kidnapped."_ Naruto couldn't believe what he just heard

'_K-Kidnapped? Hinata?'_ He thought, panic rising in him.

"N-No… No, you're lying! She can't be kidnapped!" Sasuke heard this and also started panicking.

"_Calm down Naruto…"_ Neji started but Naruto cut him off.

"CALM DOWN!? CALM DOWN!? DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! HINATA'S BEEN KIDNAPPED AND YOU WANT ME TO CAME DONW!? HELL NO!" Sasuke grabbed Naruto's phone and talked to Neji, knowing Naruto wasn't the best person to talk to when he got like this.

"Neji, it's Sasuke, do you know what happened?" Sasuke asked, hoping that they'd get some kind of clue.

"_No…" _Naruto grabbed his phone back to yell at Neji some more.

"NO!? THE HELL DO YOU MEAN NO!? AREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE TAKING CARE OF HER!?"

"_Yes but the kidnapper knocked me unconscious."_ Sasuke took back the phone so he could talk.

"Do you know what he looked like?"

"_Yes, he had bright red hair. He had a black coat that reached up to his knees and had red cloud decoration all over it."_

"Sasori." Naruto hissed. Sasuke looked at Naruto before talking to Neji again.

"Is that all?"

"_Yes, now I need both of you over here. We need to start looking for Hinata and what better place to start than where it started?"_

"Yeah, we'll be there." Sasuke hung up the phone and turned to say something to Naruto but didn't see Naruto anywhere. "Don't tell me…"

Naruto was running as fast as he could to his car.

'_It's my entire fault. If I had stayed with her, she wouldn't have been kidnapped. Stupid Akatsuki, stupid stupid me.'_ Naruto reached into his pocket and took out his keys. Before he could unlock his car, a hand shoots out to stop him. Naruto looks up and sees Gaara passively staring at him.

"Gaara, what are you doing here?" Gaara raised an invisible eye-brow at Naruto's question.

"That's a stupid question, I'm here to rid the world of the Akatsuki." Naruto remembered that it was he who called Gaara.

"Oh yeah. I'd like to stay and catch up but I got to save Hinata." Again he tried to unlock his door but Gaara's hand still didn't let him.

"You mean that girl you like?" Naruto nodded. "Let me help."

"Fine, get in and we might as well wait for Sasuke." Gaara agreed and let go of his arm. When they got in, Sasuke ran to Naruto's window.

"Hey Gaara." Gaara nodded to him, showing him that he acknowledged his presence. "Naruto, where are you going?"

"To save Hinata, now get in."

"No, we need to go to Neji so we know where they went." Naruto was getting really impatient and didn't know how much longer he could go without slamming his foot on the pedal.

"I know where they're going. Just go to Neji's and get everyone ready to fight. Meet me on the outskirts of Konoha, that's where they'll be, that's where they have Hinata." Naruto slammed his foot on the pedal and sped off. Sasuke looked of in the distance until he couldn't see Naruto's car anymore.

"You better be careful, but knowing you, you won't be."

* * *

**Ahh! What the hell? They broke up! Why? Who would write this.. Oh, heh heh yeah, me...**

**There you have it, another chapter of ****Double Life****… Hinata kicked major a-double 's' didn't see? Yup, that cause she's cool like that...  
Sorry again that it took forever to update… Review if you want…**

**Good luck with whatever!**


	7. My apologizes

Hey... I was wondering if anyone really cares if I delete this story...

I'm a little over packed at the moment and need to delete one story or something...

SO would anyone really miss this story?

Depending on what reaction i get will explain it so for those who do enjoy this story... im sorry if it gets deleted...

Good luck with whatever!


	8. I'm so sorry but

**Well, school's starting to end for me and I already finished two of my four finals so all I have to say is... FINALLY!!!**

**Man, I was getting so tired of school that I almost wanted to get up off my seat and leave... But since I'm not smart enough to teach myself things, I didn't... What does that have to do with this story, you may be asking.. Simple, means I'll have more time to actually end this...**

**With this chapter, there might be, oh, maybe one more chapter before I type the epilogue, ending it...**

**Besides the fact that I'm still too lazy to proofread and to read and review, I got nothing to say...**

**Chapter 7: I'm so sorry but... please stay with me...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...**

* * *

Naruto's black '67 Chevrolet Camaro RS SS pulled up to the outskirts of Konoha, two blocks away from an old abandoned dock where at the edge of the dock was an old boathouse. Gaara was the first to exit the car and hit the top of the trunk three times. Complying with his friend's unsaid request, Naruto popped the trunk and stepped out of the car to join Gaara. Gaara raised the trunk up and took out two items; one was a desert eagle and the other was an AK-47 which had a strap. Naruto took out a sawed off shot gun with a strap too and a P2000 V2 in 9mm.

Forcibly slamming the trunk close and putting their guns on their shoulders, Naruto and Gaara nodded at each other before running to the boathouse. They stopped at the side of the boathouse and waited for someone to come out. They didn't wait long as a man with brown hair stepped out of the boathouse to smoke. Taking out his switchblade, Gaara stealthily walked behind the man, covered his mouth with his left hand and in a quick motion, sliced the man's throat. The man fell, drowning in his own blood and Gaara licked the tip of the blade, savoring the copper taste in his mouth.

Naruto ignored the display as he entered the boathouse, Gaara following soon after. It was too dark to tell if anyone else was inside but Naruto's gut told him that he and Gaara just walked into a trap. As if to prove him right, the lights flickered on and Naruto and Gaara found themselves surrounded and outnumbered by about a hundred men in black cloaks and red clouds, each holding a gun of some kind. The crowd in front of them suddenly parted and a man stepped out with someone with a bag over their head on his shoulder.

"Ah, I see you made it." Hidan cheered excitedly. He then walked over to a parked white Dodge Ram 1500 and threw the person on his shoulder onto the back. A feminine groan came from behind the truck and Naruto's hold on his gun tensed. "As much as I'd love to stay and pay you back for what you did to me earlier but I got to deliver this delicate flower…" Hidan removed the bag over the person's head and Naruto wasn't so surprised to see Hinata though he did get angrier when he saw dry tears on her cheeks. "To Pain-sama. The he and Konan will travel to Kumo and she will be sold as a sex slave."

Naruto brought his gun up and pointed it at Hidan but he just as quickly brought a hidden gun from under his robe and pointed it at Hinata.

"Of course, I was ordered to kill her if you got too rough. So what'll it be?" Hidan asked and smirked when he saw Naruto put his gun to his side. Still pointing the gun at Naruto, Hidan jumped onto the back of the truck and stomped his foot twice, making the driver, Sasori, start the car and drive out of the boathouse. As they left through the open garage door, Hidan gave one final wave at Naruto who was seething in rage. "I'm sure Deidara would love to show you two his newest creations, so you won't get bored."

Deidara's crazed laughter filled the boathouse.

"Now let's have some fun, hmmm?" Deidara's voice said, echoing through the boathouse. The Akatsuki members that surround Gaara and Naruto locked their guns on them and prepared to shoot them. Naruto and Gaara immediately ducked under a small fort of thick boxes as a hail of bullets tried to penetrate and kill them. Naruto brought his gun up and was about to fire at the closest Akatsuki member but Gaara's hand stopped him.

He looked at him quizzically and Gaara only smirked.

"Go after her… I'll stay and deal these psychos." Gaara said with bottled up emotions of anticipation and excitement. However, his tone of voice left no room to argue so Naruto nodded his head and swiftly made his way towards the exit while taking down a few Akatsuki members. Taking out his AK-47, Gaara smiled wickedly and ran across the boathouse, turning left and right while firing at different members. Those who were too slow to take cover from the gun shots were shot down and dead within the second. To Gaara, the battle field felt more like home than on the streets racing.

Some were able to duck and save themselves from the slaughter and those that did got up and walked over to where Gaara was seen hiding to catch his breath. They approached his location with smiles on their faces, finally able to show their leader that they were worth the name 'Akatsuki'. Hearing a pin hit the ground; a small ball of some kind flew up into the air and landed right in the middle of the small group of Akatsuki. Their eye widened as they realized too late what exactly was thrown.

Gaara smiled victoriously as the sounds of yelling and an explosion going off echoed around him. He stood and watched the smoke clear, everyone near the explosions either completely annihilated or dismembered; either way they weren't getting up ever again. Gaara heard Deidara's crazed laughter from beind him so he took out his desert eagle and shot at the area where he heard the laughter.

The sound of the bullet coming in contact with skin was music to Gaara's ears. He smirked once more when he heard Deidara groan in pain. Walking over to the darkness, Gaara saw Deidara on his knees holding a bullet wound on his chest. He then fell forward as more blood started to leak through the wound. Walking to his side, Gaara kicked Deidara in the stomach and made him flip over to his back. Seeing a smile plastered on his face didn't sit well with Gaara as he saw him open his cloak.

"S-Surpise. Art is an explosion!" Explosives were attached all over Deidara's body and the trigger was in his right hand.

"Guess I'll be seeing you later Naruto… You owe me one." Gaara said with a smile on his face.

Naruto had made it to his car and unlocked it. On his way towards his car, he heard an explosion go off and he suspected that it was one of Gaara's grenades. Naruto got into his car and shoved the key into the ignition. Turning it on and slamming his foot on the pedal, Naruto took off in the direction of the airport, the only place Hidan would've token Hinata to. Another explosion rocked the boathouse behind Naruto and he looked back to see parts of the roof of the boat house fly into the air.

He looked at it from the rear view mirror before honking in front of him got his attention. Turning quickly, Naruto barely avoided the car driving opposite of him.

'_They got Hinata and now, they took Gaara.'_ That was what was going through Naruto head as his anger started reaching new heights. Ignoring the other cars in front of him, Naruto maneuvered through traffic as his speed started to pick up. From his periph, Naruto saw a black Honda heading straight for him. He pulled up to the side of the road as the Honda scratched his car. Seeing who the drivers were, Naruto stomped his foot on the pedal and ran into the Honda.

"Ah, you're going to need to do more than that!" A voice cried from in the car. Jumping out through the window, Kakuzu jumped onto Naruto's hood and aimed his gun towards the center of his forehead. Fingering the trigger, Kakuzu could only smile as Naruto took his hands off the wheel and had them in the air in a show of surrender.

"Get out of the car… Slow!" He said. Naruto sneered as he opened the car door and stepped out. Kakuzu jumped down from the hood and kept the gun pointed at Naruto the whole time, cocking it back and pistol whipping him in the face. Naruto fell and felt blood trickle down his nose. He stood up and was about to retaliate but Kakuzu took a step forward and now the gun was touching his nose.

"I should've killed you!" Naruto yelled in anger and Kakuzu chuckled.

"Yes, you really should've, however it's too late to think like that seeing as your life now hangs on by a thread. Tell me Naruto, was Hinata good?" Kakuzu asked but Naruto looked at him oddly.

"What do you mean?"

"In bed, was she good in bed? She's going to have to be if she wasn't to be a good sex slave." Kakuzu mocked as he chuckled loudly. Naruto growled and clenched his fist tightly. No one talked about Hinata like that and lived to tell about it. However, before he was able to do anything, both his and Kakuzu's attentions were caught by the sounds of a motorcycle riding towards. They looked and saw someone take out a desert eagle and skillfully shoot the gun out of Kakuzu's hand. Coming to a stop a few feet from them, the motorist kept the gunning pointing at Kakuzu while walking towards Naruto.

"Sorry I'm late Naruto." The motorist said as they removed their helmet. Tenten threw the helmet to the side and threw the keys to her motorcycle to Naruto. Naruto however was still a little surprised by Tenten's appearance.

"How'd you know I was here?" Naruto asked.

"I sent ahead to come here when Sasuke told us where they had Hinata. I ran into Gaara who was badly wounded by whoever he fought. Don't worry though, Neji came with me and took Gaara to the nearest hospital." Tenten informed Naruto, earning a sigh of relief from Naruto.

"I'm glad, thanks again Tenten." Naruto said as he ran to the motorcycle and took off with it. Tenten watched him go, giving Kakuzu enough time to dive for his gun and shoot Tenten with it. It was haste so the worse he did was shoot her left arm. With reflexes only a professional with weapons had, Tenten shot back and her bullet went into Kakuzu's left leg, making him drop his gun and fall flat on his face. .

Tenten fell to her knees as she dropped her gun and held her injured arm. She's been shot before so the pain wasn't new, though that didn't mean she was used to it. She struggled to stifle her cries of pain but then she saw Kakuzu stand up. Her eyes widened as he made his way towards her with a sickening smirk and a switchblade in his right hand.

"That's it! I'm personally going to make sure you never use another gun again!" Kakuzu bellowed as he jabbed the switchblade forward. Tenten jumped on her feet and dodged the blade. Kakuzu reared it back and stuck again. Tenten dodged all of Kakuzu's jabs and after she tried of being on the defensive, she kicked him in his stomach. He took a few steps back and from the back of her pocket, Tenten took out a metal stick no longer than five inches long and a foot thick. Swinging it to her right, the stick reached out and extended out by four feet.

Tenten spun it around with her good hand and hit Kakuzu on the left leg, just above where his bullet wound was. He grunted in pain but grabbed onto the extendable bo staff. Tenten acted quickly as she pulled on it to drag Kakuzu to her and kick him in the stomach again. This time though, Kakuzu was ready. He blocked Tenten's foot and grabbed on to it to toss her to Naruto car. Tenten hit Naruto's car with her wounded arm and fell down as silent tears escaped their imprisonment.

Kakuzu chuckled deeply as he grabbed onto his switchblade and Tenten by the neck. She struggled under his grip as she tried her hardest to free herself. The feel of cold metal other unprotected neck soon stopped her movements as her panic intensified.

"It's too late for you; you will die by my hands." Tenten snarled at him as her right hand started to search for anything around her that could save her. Finding what she need, Tenten through broken glass from Naruto's windshield into Kakuzu's green eyes and he reared back, trying to remove the glass from his eyes. Tenten fell to the ground and immediately grabbed her left arm. Looking around, Tenten saw that Kakuzu dropped his blade while trying vainly to remove the glass from his eyes.

Tenten scampered her way towards it and picked it up. Rising to her feet, she ran at Kakuzu while his back was turned and shoved the switchblade into his heart, making him stop moving. He fell to his knees and then forward onto his chest as his lifeless jade eyes looked into nothing. Falling into her backside, Tenten reached into her pocket and pulled out a cell phone. Pressing number 1 and then the call button, Tenten put the phone to her right ear. She undid the buns in her hairs and let it slowly fall to her back as the phone still rang.

"_Hello, Tenten?! Are you alright?!" _Tenten smiled, obviously touched by Neji's over protectiveness.

"Yes, I'm ok Neji but can you do me a favor and come pick me up?" She asked.

"_Ok Tenten, where are you?" _Neji asked. Tenten looked around and smiled.

"Just drive pass the boathouse, you'll know where I am when you see me." She answered with a faint chuckle.

[*.*.*.*]

Naruto swerved through traffic as he spotted the white Dodge Ram. He sped up and was so close to reaching the truck that he could probably stretch his hand out and grab the bumper of the truck. However, Hidan noticed him and took out his gun to shoot him with. Firing multiple shots, Hidan laughed maniacally as Naruto back off and went behind cars. Hidan though kept shooting, hitting other cars and occasionally shooting the tires off of a car. One swerved in the way of Naruto, almost crashing into him if it wasn't for the fact that Naruto was quick enough to avoid the lethal crash.

Naruto groaned as he lost some distance between him and the truck. His phone went off and he ignored it for the most part until it started to annoy him. Careful not to fall off the motorcycle, Naruto used his right hand to take out his phone and put it on his right ear.

"This better be important!" Naruto yelled into the phone.

"_Listen you brat! You better show me some respect!"_ A voice answered from the other line.

"Zabuza?"

_Yeah, it's me, where the hell are you?"_ He asked in a biting tone. _"Hold on."_ Naruto heard some fighting in the background and the phone being dropped.

"_I'm sorry Naruto but Zabuza is busy fighting a man wearing an orange mask. Such a weird man, speaks in third person." _Haku said as Naruto heard some glass breaking. _"Where are you?"_

"I'm chasing after some Akatsuki who have Hinata-chan. They seem to be heading for the airport."

"_Airport, why the airport?"_ Haku asked.

"They said they were taking her to Kumo so I guess they plan on flying there. Come back me up if you can."

"_Sorry Naruto but we have our hands full over here at your apartment. Apparently, the orange masked man and some tree hugger came here to make sure we don't go to help you out. It's odd too but there are like five guys outside that all dressed up to look like Pain. Sasuke, Kakashi, Shikamaru, Temari and Kankuro are fighting them now though it doesn't seem like it'll last long considering…" _The sounds of guns being fired temporarily blocked out Haku's voice. Naruto winced at the volume of it and almost fell off the motorcycle. _"…and that's why Sakura is in your room making sure Kiba's ok."_

"What?! Oh never mind, just make sure nobody dies and call me if anything else happens!" Naruto said as he shut his phone and put it back in his pocket. He sped up to catch up to Hidan and Sasori but a second Dodge Ram car went in between them, causing Naruto to slow down. He tried riding passed it from the sides but whichever way he went, the truck in front of him blocked his path.

Naruto's patience was soon coming to an end as he passed to the left side of the truck and went up to the driver's window. He scowled but wasn't surprised when he saw that some lowly Akatsuki member was driving the truck. The drivers saw Naruto and drove the truck to the left, making Naruto slow down and move to the right side where there was little space between the truck and the cemented fence position on the side as they entered the highway.

Naruto cursed his luck as he saw the driver of the truck smile and turning the steering wheel to the right, wanting to smash Naruto against the cemented fence. Naruto, through sheer instinct, jumped off his bike and landed on the back of the truck. His motorcycle was flattened by the force and was sent spiraling back as it lost the momentum it gained when it was still running.

Naruto then got up and slammed his foot onto the back window, cracking it slight but not doing much besides that. The driver of the truck slammed his foot on the brakes, slowing the car down and ramming Naruto's head against the roof of the truck after tripping on his feet. Naruto looked up and struggled to stand up straight. Not one to give up, Naruto looked to his left to see a car about to pass him. He took a short breath before jumping off the back of the truck and to the top of the car next to him.

Shaking away the pain he felt, Naruto waited for the car to catch up to Hidan and Sasori. His eagerness started to rise as he saw that he was only a car away from reaching Hidan and Sasori and saving Hinata. Unfortunately, the white Dodge Ram exited the highway as the car he was on continued down it. Before he could do anything about it, a car collided with the one he was on, causing him to lose balance and fall off the car. He landed on the windshield of a car and groaned.

He opened his eyes and saw that he was still moving. Sitting up and looking back he saw that he was on the hood of the Akatsuki member from earlier. He glared at them but the driver stopped the car with a drop of a dime, sending him flying forward and slamming his head against the concrete floor of the highway.

He saw his vision get hazy and the taste of copper in his mouth. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was two Akatsuki members walking up to him.

[*.*.*.*]

"WAKE UP!" A voice yelled, causing Hinata to stir in her state of unconsciousness. "WAKE UP!" This time the voice yelled louder and slapped Hinata in the face. She woke up immediately from the jolt of pain she felt sting her left cheek. Her eyes slowly opened as she looked into the eyes of her kidnapper.

"I see you've finally decided to wake up, how nice." Sasori said with a fake smile. Hinata blinked repeatedly while trying to gather her bearings. She looked around and noticed that she was in a closet. Compared to the usually sized closets, this one was more spacious and also was very cold. Too cold to be a closet in fact.

"By the look on your face, I think you're cold, are you not?" Hinata looked back at Sasori before glaring, not giving him an answer. However, he got his answer when Hinata started shivering. "Fine, don't answer me but I'm sure you'll be warm soon enough." Sasori told her as he walked to the only door in the room. Hinata made to stand but something was holding her back so when she looked down, she was surprised to see herself tied to the chair she was sitting on.

"Just pray that your savior gets to you before it's too late." Was Sasori's last words before he left the 'closet' Hinata was in. Hinata wondered about Sasori's ominous words as she struggled to free herself. She tried to free her feet but they were too well tied. Feeling the rope around her hands, she found a loose end and pulled on it. She smiled as she thought she had freed her hands but it disappeared when she only loosened the rope a little. Not willing to give up, Hinata tried to squeeze her hands free, feeling the rope tug on her skin.

Hinata was soon rewarded freedom when her left hand was freed. Turning, Hinata freed her right hand and then undid the knots on her legs. Standing up, Hinata walked to the door Sasori used to leave but found that it was locked from the outside. She groaned as she started to look around the room for a way to escape. She cursed her luck as no window was in the room and the only thing besides her, the chair and ropes in the room was the vent. Looking at it, an idea popped in Hinata's head.

Outside, Sasori walked up to Pain who was sitting on the hood of his red Ford Mustang GT with Konan standing near him He was currently looking into the night sky as the moon shined down over them, momentarily disappearing behind the passing clouds. Pain looked into the direction Sasori was coming from and smiled.

"So is everything set?" Pain asked. Sasori nodded his head.

"Everything is set, now all we have to do is wait for Takeo to come and bring Naruto to us. Speaking of which, I think he's here now." Sasori said as he covered his eyes from the car's lights. After it went off, Sasori walked up to the back of the truck and smiled when he saw Naruto's unconscious form. SAsori looked back at Pain and was about to say something but a punch to his face refrained him from doing so. He took a few steps back and before he could retaliate, he was tackled to the ground.

His head collided with the hard ground so he was knocked out. The person who tackled Sasori staggered as he stood and walked into the light.

"Pain." Naruto growled in a weary tone. Pain however kept the smile on his face as he jumped off the hood of his car and waited for Naruto to come to him. Naruto however picked up his speed at the last second, grabbed Pain by his collar and punched him in the face. Pain grunted in pain [haha pun!] but other than that, he didn't do anything.

"I'd be careful if I were you…" Pain brought his face up, ignoring the blood trickling down his nose. "Considering that I could easily have your girlfriend killed." Naruto eyes widened before glaring at Pain.

"Where is she?" Naruto said in a growl. Pain pointed to the direction of a small shed like building connected to the back of the airport.

"She's in there, safe and sound, tied to a chair. If you don't let me go Naruto, I'm afraid I'll have no choice but to have my men set it on fire; condemning her to death." Naruto scowled and not really wanting to, he let Pain go and took a few steps back.

"Let her go Pain, this is between you and me." Naruto said with a bit of a hassle. Pain wiped the blood away from his face and fixed his cloak.

"I suppose it is." Pain closed his eyes and walked to the back of his car. "However, I'm tired of playing these trivial games with you and I've decided to take the high road and give you the chance to pay off your debt." Naruto snarled as Pain took out two brown gym bags and threw them in front of Naruto.

"Inside each bag is half a million dollars, making it a grand total of a million dollars." Pain informed him. Naruto looked at the bag with wide eyes and shock. "This is what's going to happen: you and I will race, starting from here, the back of the airport, we'll go to the Hokage's tower, down to the Valley of End just outside of Konoha, then to the boathouse where I'm sure you ran into Deidara earlier and finally, we meet here again." Pain explained.

"So what happens when I win?" Naruto asked, not really trusting trusting Pain.

"_If_ you win, then not only will you get the million dollars and not owe me a cent, you will leave with your girlfriend and you won't see me near you or your friends ever again." Pain answered.

"Wait, what if you win?"

"I, for starters, will keep the millions of dollars. Also, you will submit to my will and Hinata…"

"Hinata will be freed." Naruto interrupted. "No matter what happens to me, I'm not willing to put Hinata on the line… not this time." Pain seemed to think over Naruto's condition.

"If you want her to go if you lose, then I have to have something in return if I lose." Pain said.

"If I win, you can keep the million dollars only if, and this is a big if, Hinata is freed if I lose." Naruto compromised and Pain nodded his head.

"It's a deal, now, shall we get this race started?" Pain asked as he opened his car door.

"Wait!" Pain just barely got in his car as Naruto shouted. "What will I race in?" Pain only smirked as he turned on his car and rode up next to Naruto.

"That's not my problem. Oh and by the way, the race starts now." Without another word, Pain took off like a speeding bullet and disappeared in the horizon. Naruto felt panic start to build up in him; if he didn't find a ride soon then he will lose his chance to be with Hinata. Konan suddenly walked up to him and handed him keys to a car. He looked at her oddly but she refused to show any emotion.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"I miss the old Pain. If he loses, then maybe, just maybe, I'll get him back." Konan replied before walking away, leaving Naruto to stare at the keys in his eye before looking around. Spotting the only car around beside the Dodge Ram, Naruto ran to it. He was surprised to see that the car was a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. Shaking off his stupor, Naruto jumped into the car and after turning it off, sped off in the direction Pain went in.

Naruto smirked as he saw Pain's car in the horizon. Either he was confident that he wouldn't find a car in time or he was having trouble working his car. For the sake of having a future with Hinata, Naruto kind of hoped for both cases. However, it seemed Pain had seen him coming because after Naruto was only ten feet away, Pain seemed to be going faster, leaving Naruto behind again.

Naruto rammed his foot down on the pedal and he started to catch up with Pain. When he was side by side with Pain, Naruto slightly turned the wheel and slammed his car against Pain, making him momentarily lose control of his car. Taking this opportunity to his advantage, Naruto sped up and was now leading the race.

Pain though was far from out of the race as he caught up to Naruto and hit him back. Naruto was pushed into the middle ground of the highway and slowed down as Pain sped up again.

"Damn it! I won't lose!" Naruto yelled as he drove the Lamborghini back onto the main road and tried to catch up to Pain. However, he didn't notice a red Mercedes drive behind him and slam into the bumper of his car. Naruto got a small whiplash and after he recovered, looked at his rear view mirror and saw Sasori driving madly behind him. "Damn it! Not now!" Naruto spat angrily as he passed the Hokage's tower. Naruto smirked as an idea came to mind. He drove into heavy traffic while exiting the highway. Like he thought would happen, Sasori was right behind him.

He maneuvered past all the cars, with Sasori following behind, and was now neck and neck with Pain who was seething with rage. Naruto rammed his car to Pain's again and Pain rammed back. Seeing Sasori drive to the left of him, Naruto could only smirk as he applied the brakes and went behind both cars as they simultaneously tried to crash him between them. They faltered as they tried to recover from the backlash, Naruto however picked up speed as he flew past them.

Pain however refused to lose to Naruto as Naruto passed entered the Valley of End which was really a barren street that led to the outskirts of Konoha. Pain too his right hand off the wheel and started to finger a button near the emergency brake. He started to apply pressure to it but then he stopped. He smirked viciously as he waited for his car to slowly catch up to Naruto before showing him the ace up his sleeve.

Naruto couldn't help but have a sense of dread in the pit of his stomach. Nervous to finish the race soon, Naruto blocked Pain from passing him as best he could. Once or twice Pain almost got through but ended up retreating before being smashed in by Naruto's car. Driving past the boathouse, it was only another five miles until they reached the airport.

The rest of the ride to the airport was pretty much the same with Pain trying to pass Naruto but Naruto wouldn't let him. As he entered the airports vacant parking lot, Naruto realized something…

"Where's Sasori?" Naruto thought aloud before lights from above him suddenly caught his attention. From his side mirror, Naruto could only watch in horror as Sasori's car had apparently jumped from the upper levels of the highway and was heading straight for Naruto's car. Pain, who hadn't noticed Sasori, decided that enough was enough and pushed the button near the emergency brake. Pain's entire back was now on the seat behind him as new found momentum caused his car to gain speed. The nitrous sent his car further ahead and made a smart left turn and was now besides Naruto.

Before Pain could surpass him, Sasori's car collided with Naruto, practically breaking it in half. The resulting crash caused Naruto's car to slide to the left, driving the sharp end of the front bumper into the front wheel of Pain's car. This in turn caused the front wheel to not only pop but to stop all together since the front bumper broke off as soon as coming in contact and into the wheel's hydraulics. Pain could only hold on to his seat as his car flipped forward about seven times before crashing on the side and coming to a stop.

Naruto's car however was rolling on its side multiple times with Sasori's following right behind him. Naruto felt himself being knocked in and out of consciousness as the car's rolling was starting to lose momentum. As it fell again with one last roll, Naruto groaned and pulled himself out of the crash. His left leg was broken, his left arm had a cut the size of a pencil and he wasn't sure but he thought one of his ribs punctured his right lung.

After taking his battered and bruised body out of the now mangled Lamborghini, Naruto willed his body to stand; he was going to finish this race, by car or by foot. He noticed that Sasori was unmoving in his car, making him think if he was dead or just unconscious.

However, he froze stiff when he heard a gun click and the sounds of a gun being shot. He then felt his right arm go numb while it sent pain throughout his entire body. Naruto fell face first on the black cemented ground, his arms to injured and his body too exhausted to stop his fall. He let out a weak groan as his skull came in contact with the unforgiving ground.

Naruto blacked out for only a second before he realized what was going on and snapping his eyes open.

"I-I won't… won't lose you… Hi-Hinata…chan." Naruto stammered as he felt blood rush out of his bullet wound. He tried to squirm his way to the back of the air port but another bullet was fired and his felt it enter his left shoulder. Then another one into his left leg, after that, two more shots were fired; one on his right leg and the other on his right shoulder.

Naruto could feel cold tears shed from his eyes as the pain of the bullets were too much. He would be unconscious right now if it wasn't for the fact that the pain was keeping him awake. The sounds of footsteps started to become louder and louder as seconds felt like hours. Finally, the person that the footsteps belonged to stood beside him before kicking him harshly on the stomach.

"Argh!" Naruto yelped in pain as he flipped to his side. Forcing his eyes to open, Narutop came face to face with a gun. Eyes widened as wide as saucers, Naruto noticed that the gun was shaking just a little. Looking to the owner of the gun, Naruto saw Pain grasping his stomach while blood steamed down from the top of his head. Pain had a weak yet sadistic smile on his face as his eye tried to stay open.

"T-This is it Naruto… this is where I f-finally rid myself of you." Pain cocked his gun before slowly and shakily positioning his gun over Naruto's heart. "Say g-goodbye…" Naruto closed his eyes and everything went silent as the loud and eardrum shattering sounds of a bullet being shot was heard by everyone within range. Mentally saying his goodbye to Hinata, Naruto awaited death's cold grip to grasp his life and send him to the afterlife.

Time slowed as a body lay lifeless on the ground, in a pool of his own blood. Naruto's cerulean eyes were positioned up, looking at the one who shot the shot with shock. The one he least expected to see save him… have saved him.

"H-Hinata…chan…" Hinata was shaking as she stood a few feet away; shaking violently as she held on to a HK-45. She had tears streaming down her face with her eyes closed. She seemed to be in shock until Naruto called her name out. Her eyes were immediately drawn to Naruto as more tears leaked down her pink tainted cheeks.

"N-Naruto…kun." She said as she made her way towards him. Step by step, inch by inch, she walked as her mind started to shut down. The fact that she killed someone was bad enough but seeing how seriously injured Naruto was… That was where the straw broke the camel's back. She filled in the gap between her and Naruto, falling to her knees and crying into his chest.

Naruto stifled the pain his entire felt as Hinata's weight added just a bit more pain to him.

"H-Hinata-chan… y-you're alive…" Naruito said through his soreness.

"I-I hate you Naruto-kun." Naruto heard Hinata's muffled voice say. "I h-hate you… I s-should h-hate you… Y-You left me a-alone and cold..." Hinata ranted but was stopped by a fragile and trembling hand on her cheek. She looked up and saw Naruto smiling at her.

"I love you t-too, Hinata-chan." Naruto's hoarse voice said. Hinata's already frail heart weakened. "And I'm so s-sorry for b-breaking up with you. W-What can I do t-to make you be… argh, mine's a-again?" Hinata didn't answer, too deep in her thoughts to respond to the outside world. Even as an ambulance pulled up near them and put Naruto in a gurney. It was only when Naruto coughed up blood did she snap out of her stupor.

She stood and walked besides Naruto as they pulled the gurney to the ambulance. Looking into each other's eye, Hinata came up with the answer as she reached for his hand.

"Stay with me." Was all she said. Naruto smirked, understanding what she meant while ignoring the blood dripping from the side of his mouth.

"Only if you want me too." He replied. "I feel c-cold Hinata-chan." Was his last words before his head dropped over his right shoulder and his eyes closed. Hinata and the two ambulance care assistants panicked and immediately brought Naruto into the back off the ambulance.

The emergency medical technician and emergency care practitioner got two work as the technician started to examine and bring Naruto back to life as the practitioner started getting the drugs ready to disinfect Naruto's wounds and the kill the bacteria already inside him. The two ambulance care assistance jumped into the back and was about to close the door until Hinata's hand stopped it.

"Please… let me come with you." Hinata pleaded. The assistant with brown short hair looked at her.

"I'm sorry miss but…"

"Please… I… I love him!" Hinata pleaded again, making the assistant rethink his decision before nodding. Hinata jumped on the back and was carried off with Naruto to the hospital as a second ambulance appeared… this one to pick up Pain's corpse.

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* * *

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**Haha looking back at the chapter title, it almost seems like I made it appear as though I was deleting the story... haha sorry bout that I was just listening to "Stay" by Safety suit and I thought it'd go great with the ending...**

**Anyways, so sad, at least Pain's dead and everything in Naruto's and Hinata's world is right... unless of course, Naruto dies...**

**OH NO! I might've jinxed it, now it's bound to happen!!! Unless, everyone reviews ^.^**

**Just kidding, Of course he's gunna leave unless I want every review to be a flame and/or threatening and scary review... That's not to say I can't have both of them die and write about them loving each other for eternity in heaven... I alos want to take this time to apologize for even thinking about deleting this story... **

**Whatever, just click the green words on the bottom... Oh and before I go... lemon? nuff said...**

**_[P.S... sorry again for bad spelling/grammar...]_**

**Next Chapter: Do I live to race another day?**

**Good luck with whatever and if you got a problem with me or one of my stories, please feel free to: Deal with it, Get over it or Choke on it!**


	9. Important

**Ok, yo! what's up, que la vaina y que onda?**

**I don't have a lot of time but I decided that I should take at least some time to let everyone know something...**

**Ok, first off, thanks for reading this story...**

**If it wasn't for you readers, I probably wouldn't have written most or any of my stories... or kept going, either way...**

**Second, after reading an update from an awesome story Naruto vs Sasuke: the aftermath, KingKakashi got an idea in my head...**

**So, here it goes...**

**No matter how long it takes, no matter what, I won't abandon this story or any story... The only way I'll give up is if I'm physically or mentally incapable of updating... Sadly tho, my family is doing a good job with my mental stability and the Navy is dealing with my physical side... I'm gunna die from over exhaustion soon... blah... **

**Anyway, please be patient with me, life is getting a hell of a lot hectic right now and I really don't need to be flamed/bashed about just cuz I can't get a break in life...**

**No, this isn't a sob story to get your sympathy, I really am not trying to get it... **

**Just basic info that I think you, as my reader, needs to know...**

**Hopefully you haven't given up faith with this story but if anyone has, sorry... Life sucks...**

**Still, hopefully my muse will come back soon and I can update as soon as possible...**

**Till then!**

**************Good luck with whatever and if you got a problem with me or one of my stories, please feel free to: Deal with it, Get over it or Choke on it...**  



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